NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Holler, an "audience-supported progressive news site" according to its website, released leaked audio clips on Thursday of a meeting between Republican lawmakers. During the meeting, they discussed voting to expel two Black, Democrat lawmakers and expressed anger at members who did not vote to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson (D - Knoxville).
In the nine-minute audio clip, lawmakers said they were frustrated by claims from Democrat lawmakers saying that the expulsion votes were racist. Rep. Justin Jones (D - Nashville) and Rep. Justin Pearson (D - Shelby County) both lost their seats. Johnson also faced an expulsion vote but kept her seat by a single vote.
Jones and Pearson are Black men, and Johnson is a white woman.
"Please forgive me if my comments are not Christ-like," said Rep. Justin Zachary (R - Knoxville), according to the Tennessee Holler's audio. "I think now more than ever everyone should recognize the Democrats are not our friends. I listened for the last three days to Democrats ... trash us as racists. I've never had anyone call me a racist and for the last three days all I have heard from them is how this is the most racist place."
Zachary also lists three Democratic, Black lawmakers who he says called him racist, according to the audio.
Resolutions to expel Jones, Pearson and Johnson were filed after all three approached the "well" in the House of Representatives while demonstrators called for lawmakers to take action and pass gun restrictions, following a Nashville school shooting that killed three children and three adults. Johnson stood with Jones and Pearson as they called for gun reform.
Johnson previously said they had brought a megaphone with them because they expected the state's Republican supermajority to shut off their microphones while they spoke, which had happened several times before during sessions.
"Good Lord, we have to realize they are not our friends. They can smile and, man, that doesn't mean I can't be polite to them. But they are not our friends. They destroy the republic and the foundation of who we are, or we can preserve it. That is the reality of where we are right now, and if you think the last three days have not proven that, you need to find a new job ... There has never been a more important time for us to be unified. There are 75 of us. Let them call us all the names they're going to call us, we need to move forward. We need to pass the gun bill. We need to pass the pronouns bill," Zachary said in the audio.
In the audio, he later said that he felt "hung out to dry" by some of the representatives.
"This would've been bad anyway but good God, we were called — it brought the racism into it because you didn't stay with us," he said in the audio.
Rep. Jody Barrett (R - Dickson), Rep. Johnny Garrett (R - Goodlettsville), Rep. Scott Cepicky (R - Culleoka) and Rep. William Lamberth (R - Portland) also spoke in the audio, according to the Tennessee Holler.
According to their audio, Lamberth also says they kicked out staffers for the meeting.
Barrett said that he chose not to vote to expel Johnson because he said he didn't want to vote "on a resolution that I know is wrong." He said that lawmakers had not established that she did more than approach the "well" during the protest.
"These resolutions got copied and pasted. All they changed was the names," he said in the audio. "1,000%, I did the right thing."
Cepicky then started speaking, according to the Tennessee Holler.
"If you don't believe we're at war for our republic, with all love and respect to you — you need a different job. The left wants Tennessee so bad, because if they get us, the southeast falls and it's game over for the republic. This is not a neighborhood social gathering. We are fighting for the republic of our country right now, and the world is staring at us. Are we going to stand our ground?" he said. "I'm going to have to swallow this, seeing Mr. Jones back up here walking these hallowed halls, that the greats of Tennessee stood in, and watch them disrespect the state that I chose to move to ... You gotta do what's right, even if you think it might be wrong."
WBIR reached out to Rep. Zachary and lawmakers about the audio clips. Rep. Barrett directed reporters to the communications director of the House Republican caucus.
Rep. Zachary released a statement about the audio. It is below.
“The leaked audio from our private caucus meeting was clipped and did not contain the entirety of our internal conversation. Regarding my comments, it is clear from the audio that my goal was to clear the air and bring closure to the frustration our members felt after the expulsion vote on Thursday. The House Republican Caucus will not be distracted by the events of the last few weeks. We will continue to fulfill the mandate given to us by the voters in Tennessee by implementing sound conservative policy that has made Tennessee the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family.”