Cameron Sexton Resign Calls Grow as Tennessee Speaker Dogged by Scandals

Calls for Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton's resignation have grown after the Republican state representative organized a vote to expel two Black Democrat lawmakers from the chamber for staging a protest over gun control in the wake of the recent school shooting in Nashville.

Thousands of Christians had signed an online petition demanding he vacates the speaker's chair, accusing him of acting with racist intentions by seeking to remove the two Black representatives who protested, and not the white representative who demonstrated alongside them. Since then, further allegations have emerged, which Sexton has yet to respond to, including that he does not live in the districts he represents and may have had an affair.

The accusations come as political tensions in Tennessee are high following the mass shooting, which left six dead including three nine-year-old students of a Christian elementary school. Republicans in the state have received the brunt of the criticism, with more than 7,000 students marching on the state capitol to demand stricter gun safety laws.

Last week, Republican Governor Bill Lee issued an executive order strengthening Tennessee's gun legislation and called for members of both parties to work on further changes. He said at a press conference on Tuesday: "The truth is, we are facing evil itself, and we can't stop evil, but we can do something."

Sexton previously told Newsweek the Republican-controlled House was willing to work on "bipartisan solutions" in order to protect children. However, those efforts were marred when the House voted to remove Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, Black Democrat lawmakers, for speaking out of turn while supporting the youth-led protest.

"Their actions are and will always be unacceptable, and they break several rules of decorum and procedure on the House floor," Sexton wrote on April 3. "In effect, those actions took away the voices of the protestors, the focus on the six victims who lost their lives, and the families who lost their loved ones."

State Representative Gloria Johnson, also a Democrat, who is white, was not expelled despite also speaking out of turn. Faithful America, a Christian social justice group, started the petition on April 12 calling for Sexton's resignation over the matter, which as of 8 a.m. ET on Monday had received nearly 19,000 signatures. Both Jones and Pearson have since been reappointed.

Accusations of racism are not the only allegations Sexton is now facing; he is also being accused of not living in the district he represents and claiming unnecessary expenses from taxpayers. Rumors are also swirling that he may have had an affair.

Newsweek approached Sexton's office for comment via email on Monday.

On April 10, Judd Legum, a journalist and author of the Popular Information newsletter, wrote a story that questioned where Sexton lived. The House Speaker lists his district address as a property in Crossville, but Legum said that according to property records, that house had been sold in October 2020, before purchasing a condo nearby.

Legum wrote that there was "significant evidence" that Sexton and his family did not live in Crossville, but Nashville, which would prevent him from being an eligible voter in the district—a requirement for a district representative under Tennessee's constitution.

A day later, Phil Williams, chief investigative reporter for Nashville-based News Channel 5, noted that the state constitution also states that representatives are allowed to temporarily lose their residency if they intend to return and it is in the service of the state.

He added: "Sexton argues, as Speaker, he has to be in Nashville so often that it's easier to have his family here."

Legum also said that Sexton claimed members' expenses for those who live more than 50 miles from Nashville, which are higher than for those who live near the city. He claimed that Sexton "may have overcharged Tennessee taxpayers as much as $78,756 since 2020" if he lived in Nashville full-time.

Williams responded that there were "a LOT of Tennessee lawmakers who don't spend money on hotels, choosing instead to use per diem on condo leases or mortgages. That is not illegal in Tennessee."

He also pointed out that Sexton had recently made media appearances in his Crossville condo, suggesting he did spend time there.

However, officials from two county Democratic Parties expressed concerns about the allegations. In a statement to The Tennessee Holler podcast on Friday, they cited Legum's reports and joined the demands for Sexton's resignation.

Anne Quillen, chair of the Cumberland County Democratic Party, said: "Even if it's determined Sexton merely violated the 'spirit' of the residency requirement, his absence from the district means he and his family don't experience the consequences of his actions."

"If this is true, Cameron Sexton must RESIGN," Jason Nichols, a political analyst and senior lecturer in African American studies at the University of Maryland, wrote on Twitter.

Legum wrote in a later report that Tennessee's residency law defines a representative's place of residence as where they and their family live, providing documents that suggest that a warranty deed on the home in Nashville had been signed by Sexton's wife.

Sexton has also faced accusations of infidelity. Brian Manookian, a Nashville-based trial lawyer, said in an April 8 tweet that Sexton had a mistress and "prefers blondes." While not naming his alleged mistress, he said he knew her personally.

His claims were reinforced by Cari Wade Gervin, a local freelance reporter, who tweeted the same day that someone had once emailed her a nude picture of Sexton alleging they had an affair, "but then disappeared before I could confirm who they were/whether the photo was faked."

Sexton has not publicly responded to the allegations relating to his residence or those of infidelity.