Today, the Tennessee House passed a redrawn congressional map that responds to aggressive liberal gerrymanders in California and Virginia, and wipes out the state’s lone Democrat seat. This vote drew heated reactions, including a deranged Rep. Justin Pearson exploding at law enforcement. However, the Elitist Media chose to protect him from any scrutiny.
Pearson, presumably angry after having his challenge to incumbent Rep. Steve Cohen vaporized, screamed at a Tennessee State Trooper there to protect him:
🚨 NOW: Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson (D) gets CAUGHT on camera INTIMIDATING State Troopers and getting in their FACE, because he was so angry that 2026 redistricting is passing
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 7, 2026
The thug gets in his face: "MOVE THE F*CK BACK! BOY!! The f*ck is wrong wichu?! You stupid… pic.twitter.com/x8kXLS8LEM
Although some of the Elitist Media covered the vote, none covered Pearson’s vile and out-of-control outburst.
CBS mentioned Pearson’s colleague Rep. Justin Jones burning a printout of the Confederate flag, but not Pearson’s crashout.
WATCH: CBS's coverage of the Tennessee congressional map redraw OMITS State Rep. Justin Peterson's out-of-control outburst at a State Trooper working crowd control.
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) May 8, 2026
TONY DOKOUPIL: We turn now to Tennessee, which today became the first state to redraw voting districts after last… pic.twitter.com/riCLIPGtei
CBS EVENING NEWS
5/7/26
6:42 PM
TONY DOKOUPIL: We turn now to Tennessee, which today became the first state to redraw voting districts after last week's Supreme Court ruling limiting lawmakers ability to take race into account. The move broke up a majority black district and added to a national controversy over altered election maps. At least eight states have made a change. Our Ed O'Keefe is tracking it all. Ed, you’re in Alabama, which could be next to change the map, but tell us about Tennessee today.
ED O’KEEFE: Well, Tony, Tennessee Democrats could do little more than protest the move, and they did that standing in a line, shouting at Republicans as they voted overwhelmingly to drop the state's one democratic congressional seat. Authorities removed several individuals during the chaos, while outside the chamber, one state house Democrat burned a copy of the Confederate flag. Today's vote means this Democratic district, which encompasses the mostly black city of Memphis, will be split into three districts, designed to favor Republicans. The NAACP is now suing to block the change. Similar redrawing may soon happen in southern states like Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and here in Alabama, all based on last week's Supreme Court ruling that narrows the scope of the Voting Rights Act. Tony.
DOKOUPIL: Ed, thank you very much.
NBC ran a tiny brief on the Nightly News, and didn’t talk about Pearson either:
WATCH: NBC Nightly News covers passage and protests of the Tennessee map redraw, but excluded Rep. Justin Peterson's unhinged outburst at a State Trooper on duty.
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) May 8, 2026
TOM LLAMAS: We're back now with the intense fight over the redistricting in Tennessee. Democratic lawmakers… pic.twitter.com/cjCtFKpt5h
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
5/7/25
6:52 PM
TOM LLAMAS: We're back now with the intense fight over the redistricting in Tennessee. Democratic lawmakers protesting after Republicans in the state legislature passed a new congressional map in the wake of that landmark Supreme Court decision. That new map will split up the state’s only Democratic district, a majority black district, paving the way for Republicans to gain another hot- another seat.
They ran the Confederate flag burning, but nothing on Pearson. That tiny brief is substantially more than ABC ran on the Tennessee redraw, which was absolutely nothing.
Suffice it to say that coverage would be substantially different had a Republican in, say, Virginia had such an outburst. With a media darling blowing up at law enforcement (and perhaps miraculously evading a painful arrest), coverage is just (D)ifferent.
