Republican lawmakers in Tennessee voted to silence a Democratic representative during an arduous House floor session after determining that he was in violation of a newly enacted rule on “decorum” which disciplines members who are disruptive, The Tennessean reports.

Members of the House voted 70-20 to discipline Rep. Justin Jones on Monday (August 28), after Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, warned the lawmakers about being out of order during the statehouse floor session and not sticking to the topic at hand. Jones, who was criticizing a bill that would place more law enforcement officers in public schools throughout the state, was barred from debating on bills and speaking on the house floor for the remainder of the floor session but he was still permitted to cast votes. If the House voted for a second time, Jones would be silenced for three days.

In response to the GOP-led vote, the Democratic caucus left the floor to stand in solidarity with Jones and in protest of the House rules that seemingly targeted their colleague. Last week, House Democrats argued that House Republicans held all the power to define what breaks “decorum” due to their supermajority.

Jones called the vote a “charade” and an attempt to silence opposing voices of the Republican agenda.

"The House is out of order under Cameron Sexton's leadership. This is very disheartening, this is very troubling. This is a step toward authoritarianism, and we should all be troubled by this," Jones said. "Our Democratic caucus was united. We walked out because that's a charade, a sham happening in there. And the people are united in challenging authoritarianism."

“The problem here is you have the discretion to say what is or isn’t out of order,” House Minority Leader Karen Camper  added. “Members were asking what was out of order. It appeared to me, the little bit I did hear, is the member was trying to make an analogy with respect to the bill.”

During the heated session, Rep. Justin Pearson said that Rep. Gino Bulso had been “gaveled out of order twice while presenting a different bill.” According to the House clerk, Sexton had only given an “unofficial warning” to Bulso before finding him out of order.

The public gallery grew angry and yelled at Sexton, “This is a fascist state!” and “You’re racist!”

State troopers came to remove the demonstrators who eventually left and they continued chanting in the hallways.

This is not the first attempt by the GOP House leadership to silence Jones. In April, the state legislature voted to expel Jones and Pearson from their House seats after accusing them of breaking protocol in their protests for meaningful gun control legislation in the state.

Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white and is known along with Jones and Pearson as  “the Tennessee Three,” was not brought up by the House to be expelled.

“It might have to do with the color of our skin,” Johnson said after she was asked why she wasn’t expelled like her Democratic colleagues.

Less than a week later Jones was reinstated by Nashville's Metro Council and Pearson was reappointed by the Shelby County Commissioners.

Taking advantage of the Democrat's absence,  House Republicans passed House Bill 7073. Sponsored by Sexton, the legislation would allow some teenagers to be sentenced as adults in criminal courts.