One of two black Democrats evicted from the GOP-led Tennessee House of Representatives last week was reinstated Monday after the Nashville governing council voted to return him directly to the legislature.

The unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council reinstates Rep. Justin Jones in office four days after Republicans stripped him of his seat. Moments after the decision, Jones began marching toward the Capitol.

Republicans have banned the two lawmakers for their roles in a gun violence protest on the house floor following a deadly shooting at a Nashville school.

The other impeached legislator, Justin Pearson, could be reappointed Wednesday at a Shelby County Commission meeting.

Thursday’s evictions turned Tennessee into a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy and brought the ousted lawmakers into the national spotlight.

Jones’ appointment is on an interim basis. Special elections for the seats will take place in the coming months. Jones and Pearson have said they intend to run in the special election.

Before the Nashville special council was due to begin, a few hundred people gathered in front of the Nashville courthouse, and more poured in. Some carried signs that read: No Justin, No Peace. Inside the courthouse, a line of people waited outside the council chambers for the doors to open.

Rosalyn Daniel arrived early and waited in line to get a seat in the council chamber. She said she is not in the Jones district, but is a Nashville native and a concerned citizen.

I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, during the civil rights movement, so I understand why this is so important, she said.

Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton spokesman Doug Kufner indicated that whoever is appointed to the vacancies by the Nashville and Shelby County governments will sit as representatives, as required by the Constitution.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth and Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison said they would welcome the ousted lawmakers if reinstated.

Tennessee’s constitution provides a way back for eviction,” they said in a statement. “Should an expelled member be reappointed, we welcome them. Like everyone else, they are expected to abide by both House rules and state law.”

Jones and Pearson quickly attracted prominent supporters. President Biden spoke with them and Vice President Kamala Harris visited them in Nashville. The ousted lawmakers have filled their legal teams. Eric H. Holder, who served as Attorney General under President Obama, now represents Jones.

The world is watching Tennessee,” lawyers for Jones and Pearson wrote in a letter to Sexton on Monday. action that would require recovery.

A third Democrat targeted for eviction, Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, also attracted national attention.

Political tensions rose as the three joined hundreds of protesters who filled the Capitol last month to call for the passage of gun safety measures.

As protesters filled the galleries, lawmakers approached the front of the House chamber with a megaphone and joined in a chant. The scene took place a few days after the shooting at Covenant School, a private Christian school where six people were killed, including three children.

Johnson, who is white, was spared from eviction by one vote. Republican lawmakers justified splitting their votes by saying, for example, that Johnson played less of a role in the protest that she did not speak into the megaphone.

Johnson suggested that race was likely a factor in why Jones and Pearson were impeached, but not them. She told reporters that maybe it had to do with our skin color.

GOP leaders have said the evictions, a mechanism used only a few times since the Civil War, had nothing to do with race and were necessary to avoid setting a precedent for lawmakers to use interference in House proceedings through would tolerate protest.

Expulsion is generally reserved as punishment for legislators charged with crimes or similar serious misconduct.