WASHINGTON — A photojournalist says Tyler Rep. Louie Gohmert tried to block him from taking photos of protesters during attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearings this week.

Photographer Jim Lo Scalzo was busy snapping pictures of protesters being escorted out of the hearing room Tuesday when, he said, Gohmert attempted to stand between his camera and the action.

"When I asked him, 'Are you seriously blocking me from making these pictures of these protesters?' he said, 'Yes,' " said Lo Scalzo, who works for the European Pressphoto Agency. “He said, 'The story is not there,' and then he pointed to Sessions and said, 'The story is over there.' "

Gohmert, the conservative East Texas Republican known for his colorful remarks in regular congressional speeches and TV appearances, suggested it was a handful of photographers who were out of line.

Noting that as a former felony judge, he worked with photographers inside courtrooms, Gohmert said the photographers broke protocol when they "jumped up" in front of him as a protest erupted. Gohmert was seated in the audience at the end of a row, near the exit door.

The congressman said his actions didn't constitute censorship, but he didn't deny standing in front of the photographers' lens.

"There were plenty of cameras to capture what was going on, so there was no censorship, but the rule-breaking, distracting, view-blocking cameraman was blocking my view requiring me to stand," Gohmert said. "He wasn't determined to get the truth out, he was selfishly disrupting the view he was not allowed to, to try and prevent one of the many other photographers who were not violating rules from having a better picture than him."

He added: "Were it my courtroom, he would be banned from further entrance at hearings with a camera, until he satisfactorily proved he would not continue to obstruct hearings if allowed in with a camera."

Other photographers affected by Gohmert's move declined to discuss the incident.

Appearing in an interview with C-SPAN following the hearing on Tuesday, Gohmert called for the photographers in question to be ousted along with the protesters.

Lo Scalzo said he wasn’t blocking the congressman’s view of the at-times fiery hearings, marked by repeated interruptions by protesters. In those instances, the hearings were temporarily halted while the protesters were escorted out.

The photographer said he was stunned by the exchange. "It’s a basic First Amendment issue," he said. "Lawmakers do not get to determine what I can and cannot cover in a public place, end of story."

Photos provided by Lo Scalzo indicated the congressman left his seat to stand between him and the protesters. A video of the hearing also indicates Gohmert left his seat to block the photographer, and that the men exchanged words following the incident.

Jeff Kent, who heads the Senate Press Photographers Gallery, the group responsible for credentialing photographers and organizing photo coverage of Congress, said the gallery hasn’t had an official discussion over the incident. No formal complaint has been filed.

Rarely does the gallery encounter complaints between journalists and lawmakers, he said. “I do not recall an incident like this."

An aide to the Senate Judiciary Committee said officials there were made aware of the exchange.

Each committee sets its own rules for photo coverage in hearings, but in general, photographers are allowed to sit on the floor or on low stools with their backs against the dais, according to rules set by the photographers' gallery. Photographers are allowed some movement but advised to remain low, as to not block views, and not to move around excessively.

Lo Scalzo said he is speaking up about the exchange because of concerns it could set a troubling precedent for working journalists.

“This is the first time in 23 years of covering Capitol Hill that I have seen a lawmaker attempt to physically prevent photojournalists from making a picture in a public place,” he said. “Given increasing animosity to the media among politicians in Washington, I fear it may not be the last.”