Rep. David Byrd, a Republican from Waynesboro, was easily re-elected last year despite allegations that he sexually abused three high school students when he was their basketball coach decades ago (and despite a damning recording of him apparently apologizing to one of them). But a group of women, some of whom traveled regularly from rural Tennessee to the Capitol, refused to let him off the hook, even when House Republican leadership seemed content to do just that. The halls outside the state House and the committee room where Byrd briefly chaired an education subcommittee (seriously) were regularly filled with the sounds of their righteous anger at yet another man in power refusing to be accountable for his actions. They would not let up, and now he has. Byrd announced he will not seek re-election next year. Good on those protesters, and good riddance to him. STEVEN HALE
Best Protest
The Fight to Remove David Byrd
Photo: Daniel Meigs
