By Brad Reed
This story was first published in Raw Story April 16, 2023
A new robocall is falsely accusing the three Tennessee Democratstargeted by Republicans for expulsion from the state legislature of being violent “Antifa” radicals.
Audio of the call, which was obtained by the Tennessee Holler, describes Tennessee Democrats Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson as “radical activists posing as elected officials” who purportedly “led an angry mob of Antifa intending violence” to the Tennessee State Capitol building earlier this month.
The robocall also falsely claimed that law enforcement officials confiscated “pipe bombs” from demonstrators protesting against the three Democrats’ expulsion.
According to the Tennessee Holler, the calls were funded by right-wing organization Enlighten Tennessee, whose stated goal is to “preserve the Conservative economic principles which make Tennessee the greatest state in the country to live.”
Gloria Johnson, the one Tennessee Democrat who survived the expulsion vote, reacted angrily to the robocall, which she decried as “disgusting.”
“Antifa? Pipe bombs?” she asked incredulously. “I guess parents brought them in strollers with their babies and toddlers. I didn’t know they made brass knuckles for children. This is disgusting, disgraceful, and it’s going to get someone hurt.”
Johnson also hinted at legal action against the call and revealed that she’s “already have had my lawyer on the phone” to talk about options.