As members of Congress heard testimony from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey today, one woman stood up to protest. Laura Loomer, a some-time “Trump girl” and investigative journalist, got up and started loudly asking Dorsey why she had been “unverified” on Twitter.
She listed other conservative figures who have had issues with the social media service and said, “you even censored Donald Trump when one of your employees deleted his account for a few minutes,” adding, “You are censoring conservatives,and I’m asking president Trump to please help us. Please help us President Trump….before it’s too late. Because Jack Dorsey is trying to influence the election.”
You can watch video of the protest here:
The chair called on Loomer to sit down and tried to restore order. “Ma’am,” he said firmly, “you’ll please take a seat, or we’ll have to ask you, you’ll need to leave.” But his request didn’t work at all, and Loomer went right on calling on President Trump to “please help us.”
At this point Representative Billy Long, of Missouri, got involved. Long prides himself on his skill as an auctioneer, and he started showing off that talent, rattling off a mock auction cry in the middle of the room. You can see that — and more of Loomer — here:
and here:
Billy Long is an auctioneer who uses the Twitter handle @auctnr1. This is not the first time he’s exhibited his skills in Congress.
Back in 2011, Long took to the House floor to propose a bill that would designate the third Saturday in April as National Auctioneer Day. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina — who is also an auctioneer — co-sponsored the bill.
Long used the occasion to show off his skills as an auctioneer, turning his tongue-twisting talents to the national debt and rattling off a list of figures at astonishing speed.
In any event, Long was effective at drowning out Loomer’s protest today — and at lightening the mood in the hearing. Attendees started laughing and filming the whole wacky event with their phones.
Loomer, though, was escorted out of the room. You can also see video that, here: