NASHVILLE, Tenn. >> One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House was reinstated Monday after Nashville’s governing council voted to send him straight back to the Legislature.

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

Republicans banished the two lawmakers over their role in a gun-control protest on the House floor in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting.

The other lawmaker, Justin Pearson, could be reappointed Wednesday at a Wednesday of the Shelby County Commission.

The expulsions on Thursday made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy and propelled the ousted lawmakers into the national spotlight.

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