US Republican congressional leadership shut-off C-SPAN television cameras covering the House of Representatives floor on Wednesday (June 22), as Democrats staged a sit-in calling for a vote on gun-control legislation. (C-SPAN, or the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, televises proceedings of the US federal government.)
In response, participating Democratic representatives have turned to social media to get the word out. Representative Eric Swalwell of California, utilized Facebook’s recently implemented Live feature, to give constituents an idea of what’s happening on the House floor.
Cheri Bustos of Illinois has been publishing photos and videos of the protest to her Snapchat account:
Meanwhile, Scott Peters, also of California, has been broadcasting the event live via Periscope:
As has New York City representative Charles Rangel:
Others are simply live-tweeting their experiences minute-by-minute:
There has been no word yet on when C-SPAN will be permitted to resume coverage. For the time being, it has opted to broadcast Periscope footage taken by various sit-in participants.
This post as been updated.