Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) said she is “seeking legal redress” over the punishments meted out by Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) after her outburst during the Tennessee General Assembly’s special session that saw Republican majorities redraw the state’s congressional districts.
“During the redistricting special session in May, I made the courageous decision to stand on my Senate desk and sing with pride after the Speaker cut my mic while giving a floor speech. I held up a banner that read ‘No Jim Crow 2.0,'” wrote Oliver in a post to the online newsletter platform Substack. “For that, GOP leadership refused to count my ‘NO’ vote. Then they came for my paycheck.”
Viral video and photographs captured Oliver (pictured above) standing on her desk in the Senate chamber, holding a bed sheet emblazoned with the words, “No Jim Crow 2.0” and “Stop The TN Steal.” Another video appears to show Oliver attempting to retrieve the bed sheet from the Senate Sergeant at Arms, who confiscated it from the senator.
Sen. Charlane Oliver and a Senate Sergeant at Arms tug over her banner that says “No Jim Crow 2 Stop the Steal.” pic.twitter.com/aYQlts65Oe
— Chris Davis NC5 (@ChrisDavisMMJ) May 7, 2026
After the episode, McNally notified Oliver of three penalties for her behavior. She now only receives the per diem pay given to state lawmakers when the General Assembly is in session or she is required to participate in a committee meeting, no longer receives reimbursement for out-of-state travel expenses, and was reassigned from the Government Operations Committee to the State and Local Government Committee.
Oliver wrote in her Substack post, “The punishments were handed down because I refused to be silent and complicit while they rigged our maps to erase Black representation in Memphis.”
The state senator revealed that attorneys with the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection sent a letter to McNally on her behalf last month. Oliver confirmed McNally did not respond by July 31, as the letter requested.
“I’m exploring every avenue at my disposal for seeking legal redress,” wrote Oliver, “not just for me, but for every Tennessean whose representative gets punished for doing their job.”
Following the redistricting process, Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District is considered competitive for Republicans for the first time in five decades.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
