Black Democrat furious after being blocked from briefing on major Elon Musk project

A Democratic member of the Tennessee House was blocked Monday from attending an event announcing a new state-sanctioned partnership with Tesla — an incident that the lawmaker called an “egregious and troubling abuse of power.”

Held at the Hilton BNA Nashville Airport Terminal, the event saw new details revealed about the “Music City Loop,” a proposed underground tunnel connecting the airport to downtown Nashville, to be constructed by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company, a subsidiary of SpaceX. When Tennessee House Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) attempted to attend the event, however, he was denied entry, The Tennessee Holler reported.

“This is how this project’s been announced, in secrecy and lack of transparency,” Jones can be heard telling a member of law enforcement blocking his entrance into the event. “Is anybody else being kept out, or just Black lawmakers?”

Jones remained prohibited from entering the event space, as could be seen in a video captured by The Tennessee Holler, despite the project being proposed to be constructed in his district, and while Republican Tennessee lawmakers representing districts outside of Nashville freely walking into the event space, including Republican Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who represents a district in central Tennessee, more than 70 miles from Nashville.

Jones alleged “corporate lobbyists” and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, kept him out of the event. In a statement to News 2 on Monday, a BNA spokesperson denied that Jones was denied entry at the direction of Lee.

“This project, which requires state approval, is yet another attempt by Bill Lee and his corporate donors to enrich themselves while neglecting public services and real infrastructure needs of working class people who commute to downtown for work at bars, hotels, and restaurants,” Jones said in a social media post.

“Musk’s Boring Company has been known to violate workplace safety laws and damage water quality, which is why other cities have refused or rejected his Tesla Tunnels, and why they are afraid of being questioned.”

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