Justin – WUVS 103.7 The Beat

Tennessee Rep. Justin J. Pearson blasts Trump’s Memphis federal ‘occupation,’ says Black businesses and residents are suffering

As the Trump administration continues to deploy federal agents and the National Guard in Memphis as part of its stated goal of reducing crime, Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson is blasting President Donald Trump‘s federal surge for negatively impacting the majority-Black city. Following U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s visit to Memphis on Monday to meet with officers and tout the perceived success of the Trump-created Memphis Safe Task Force, Pearson slammed the ongoing operation, arguing that Bondi and the […]

November 26, 2025

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Tennessee Three’s Justin J. Pearson announces run for Congress, challenging longtime Democrat

Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson announced that he is running for Congress, setting up a primary contest against longtime Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen. “I am ready to fight for us in the United States Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives must be centered on us,” said Pearson in a campaign video declaring his candidacy for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District in the 2026 election. Pearson, 30, gained national notoriety in 2023 after he was expelled from the Tennessee State House […]

October 13, 2025

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Tenn. State Rep. Justin Pearson’s confrontation with Republican over gun violence gets personal: ‘Learn to shut up!’

Emotions were high at the Tennessee State Capitol on Wednesday as State Rep. Justin J. Pearson confronted a Republican colleague during a legislative hearing on gun control. Pearson, a longtime gun reform advocate who, along with fellow Rep. Justin Jones, was infamously expelled by Republicans for protesting against gun violence on the House floor, returned to the capitol building after losing his brother to gun suicide to yet again advocate for his legislation to end permitless-carry gun laws in Tennessee. […]

March 27, 2025

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Tennessee Three’s Justin J. Pearson says Harris ‘fought for us,’ so he’s returning the favor

The day after two young Black Tennessee state lawmakers were expelled last year by majority white male Republicans, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Nashville on a whim to condemn the ousters in a non-scripted fiery speech. It was a remarkable move for a sitting vice president to engage in such state-level controversy. Reps. Justin J. Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson were brought up on expulsion charges in the state House of Representatives after joining anti-gun violence protesters in […]

October 3, 2024

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Tenn. Rep. Justin Jones to remain on 2024 ballot after GOP dispute

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One of the two Black lawmakers briefly expelled from Tennessee’s GOP-controlled Statehouse last year will remain on the 2024 ballot after overcoming a challenge from a Republican opponent. Earlier this year, Rep. Justin Jones submitted 26 signatures to Nashville election officials in order to qualify to run as a Democratic candidate. He needed at least 25 signatures from verified voters in his district. After one of Jones’ signatures was disqualified, Republican challenger Laura Nelson filed a complaint challenging […]

May 5, 2024

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Tenn. Rep. Justin Jones slams proposal to ban lawmakers booted for behavior as ‘retaliatory’ and ‘racist’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republicans in the Tennessee House voted Monday to advance a bill that would prevent local governments from reappointing state lawmakers who were expelled due to behavior. The proposal is one of several restrictions being considered after the GOP’s high-profile expulsion proceedings last April against Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. It would bar what happened after: Jones and Pearson were reappointed and quickly went back to work. One of the Legislature’s staff attorneys expressed […]

February 27, 2024