(The Center Square) – Justin Pearson, a Democratic candidate for the 9th Congressional District seat, is suing the Memphis City Council after it banned him from two future meetings.
Pearson, who represents Memphis in the Tennessee House of Representatives, was banned after a meeting on Oct. 6 where he spoke through a megaphone. In a letter to Pearson included in the court documents, Council Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington called Pearson’s behavior “disruptive” and a violation of the council’s Rules of Decorum.
The ban keeps Pearson from an Oct. 20 meeting where the council will consider a moratorium on data centers. Pearson is a vocal critic of data centers and says the ban violates his First Amendment rights.
“Anywhere that there is a threat to our liberty, we are obligated to do everything that we can to stand up so those in power can never become accustomed to misusing their power against us – their constituents,” Pearson said in a statement. “Every person, whether you disagree with them or not, is entitled to speak their opinion and give their ideas in public forms. There is no right that gives a City Council chairwoman or anyone else the ability to go beyond the bounds of Tennessee law and the United States Constitution to discriminate or retaliate against those who do not agree with their actions.”
Included in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Tennessee are Pearson’s mother, Kimberly Owens Pearson, his brother, KeShaun Pearson, LJ Abraham, Amber Sherman and Jasmine Bernard, who have also faced bans from the Memphis City Council meetings.
“I have fought against the tyranny of government for years,” Pearson said. “I have fought against the White House, the state House, and now City Hall because no one deserves to have their rights abridged or taken away by anyone – Democrats or Republicans – who is abusing the authority they have been entrusted with by the people they serve.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting a comment from the Memphis City Council.
Brent Taylor, Pearson’s opponent in the 9th District race, said this is not the first time Pearson has disrupted a government proceeding. Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2023 for speaking through megaphones during a debate about gun control. Both regained their House seats in special elections.
“Democratic Socialist Justin Pearson has no respect for law enforcement and causes chaos everywhere he goes,” Taylor told The Center Square. “Comrade Pearson is now furthering the chaos by engaging in law-fare against a Democrat-controlled City Council for enforcing rules of decorum.”
