Protest erupted at the Tennessee Capitol Thursday as the state's Republican supermajority is poised to take the unprecedented move of expelling three Democrats as punishment for violating House decorum rules. House members are expected to vote Thursday to remove Reps. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, from elected office after the trio brought the chamber to a halt for nearly an hour last week by speaking out of order following the deadly shooting at The Covenant School – a move House Speaker Cameron Sexton later likened to “an insurrection.” The expulsion vote — along with the deadly Covenant shooting and subsequent demonstrations — has thrust Tennessee and its politics onto the national stage, drawing attention from Republicans and some of the highest-ranking Democrats in the country. 📸: Nicole Hester & Alan Piozner, @tennesseannews; Seth Herald, @gettyimages