Turmoil engulfed the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville Thursday after lawmakers approved a new congressional map.
Videos posted to the social media platform X showed elected Democrats — a distinct minority in the Volunteer State — walking out of the Capitol in protest while their supporters chanted and disrupted proceedings with noisemakers.
The following short video, for instance, showed black lawmakers quietly walking out of the chamber. One could hear protesters in the background.
Chaotic moments in TN House as Dems walk out in protest of redistricting map cracking Memphis. Alarms are going off in the Capitolpic.twitter.com/kmh6IsipTH
— Melissa Brown (@itsmelissabrown)May 7, 2026
Another video, shot from the protesters’ perspective, captured the chants in the Capitol gallery.
The same video also showed at least one protester chanting “pedophile protector” as Republican lawmakers filed out of the building. Since PresidentDonald Trumpand others in his administration appeared to only reluctantly release files on the deceased sex offender and suspected sex traffickerJeffrey Epstein, Democrats have taken to calling Trump a “pedophile.”
Finally, in a callback to the 1960s, protesters chanted “hey hey, ho ho, this racist map has got to go.”
#BREAKING: Tennessee House passes new congressional map, removing state’s only Democratic black-majority district.pic.twitter.com/fs6FZFwdZo
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire)May 7, 2026
Source: VidNews » Feed
