Democrats Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, both of whom are Black, were expelled by Republican lawmakers last Thursday after they disrupted the assembly session, demanding restrictions on firearms in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in the city of Nashville.

A third legislator who joined their protest -- a white woman named Gloria Johnson -- was not removed, sparking accusations of racism around the case and fueling anger among Democrats well beyond Tennessee.

The Nashville Metropolitan Council voted Monday afternoon to send Jones back to his seat in the state legislature on an interim basis, pending a special election.

Pearson was voted to return to his seat, also on an interim basis, by the Shelby County Commission on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden has invited all three of the protesting lawmakers to the White House, while Kamala Harris -- the first Black vice president in US history -- attended a rally in Nashville in support of the "Tennessee Three."