Tennessee state rep says Trump is a 'white supremacist domestic terrorist' over SCOTUS ruling against race-based voting maps

Tennessee Democrat State Rep. and congressional hopeful Justin Pearson was out protesting Governor Bill Lee's plan to redraw the congressional district maps in the state, saying that it was President Donald Trump who is to blame. During an MS NOW interview, Pearson said Trump is a "white supremacist domestic terrorist."

His remarks come after the Supreme Court ruled that race cannot be used as a factor in drawing congressional maps and Governor Bill Lee said he would look to the legislature to redraw the state's maps.

For Pearson and other Democrats, preventing discrimination based on race is actually racist. "We want people to go to DefendDistrict9.com," Pearson said. "We're preserving and fighting to preserve our congressional representation and stop the racist gerrymandering that's being proposed."

The site states: "District 9 is the ONLY Democratic and ONLY Black-majority congressional district in Tennessee. This is a direct attack on Black political power and our community in Memphis — a community built by people who fought, bled, and sacrificed for the rights we have today. We’re not backing down!" 

"Trump is conspiring with the MAGA Tennessee governor to destroy the only Democratic Congressional seat and strip the only majority-Black district in Tennessee of representation," it reads further. Tennessee is a state of over 7 million, with a majority white population of about 75%. The black population is around 15%. There is one Democrat-held district around Nashville, with the rest of the 8 seats being held by Republicans.

"You're calling it racist," asked the reporter from MS NOW. "Help me understand why this is viewed as racist in your eyes."

"This is the only black majority district in the state of Tennessee," Pearson said. "After the gutting of the voting rights act, this is where the state of Tennessee decided to attack first black representation. And we know that's happening in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and it's going to be happening all across our country. We have to defend our right to representation, our voices in Congress, in the State House, in an elected office."

"Why do you think Republicans are moving forward with this effort and talk to me, give me a response to President Donald Trump's involvement in this," MS NOW asked. "We of course know that he kind of directed the governor to do this."

"Exactly," Pearson said. "Donald Trump is a white supremacist domestic terrorist who is seeking to destroy our democracy by any means necessary, including by usurping democracy itself and the voices of the people. And Governor Bill Lee, [House Rep.] Cameron Sexton and Lieutenant Governor McNally, have all decided to join him in this effort to destroy our democracy, to take away our voice, and to attack black people and black representation, and that's wrong."

Pearson was briefly expelled from the Tennessee House for leading a gun control protest on the floor of the legislative chamber. He is backed by the Sunrise Movement, which says "Justin’s work through grassroots organizing and community advocacy shows what bold, people-powered leadership looks like, the kind of leadership that puts people before corporate interests and special favors. We are building a political revolution that will overtake the same tired politics and deliver real change."