NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee legislative staffer has been placed on leave after Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones says the staffer yelled at him in a hallway.
Jones, who shot to national fame as one of two Democrats expelled by their Republican colleagues last year for their participation in a protest calling for gun control, said that he filed a complaint against the staffer last month following an incident that took place outside his legislative office.
Jones added that the staffer confronted him in the hallway, began yelling at him and didn’t leave until another lawmaker intervened.
Jones said Tuesday that an independent investigation was conducted and it was determined that the staffer would be suspended until May.
“No matter who you are, no one should be talking to another person like that,” Jones said.
The staffer works for a fellow Democratic House member.
Connie Ridley, the Legislature’s administrative director, provided a letter to The Associated Press that was sent to the staffer on January 30. The letter said that the staffer would be placed on “disciplinary suspension” until May 3, with pay being withheld between February 1 through February 16.