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TV feed of House Democrats' sit-in cut off

TV viewers hoping to catch all of the House Democrats' sit-in on the House floor on Wednesday had to find other methods besides Capitol chronicler C-SPAN.

That's because it's the House that controls C-SPAN's video and audio feeds, meaning when Republican leadership sent the House into recess, they cut off the feed.

Democrats are staging a "sit-in" on the House floor in protest of the GOP's refusal to allow a vote on a gun control measure following the Orlando massacre. Around 11:25 a.m., as Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) yielded his time to Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer, (D-Md.), the House went into recess and the feed was cut.

"What we show on C-SPAN is the feed from the House. It is the House’s video, their feed, their audio, their camera angles. It’s the House recording studios that operates the cameras under the control of House majority leadership," C-SPAN spokesman Howard Mortman said in an interview. Mortman said they were not given warning that the House would be recessed or the feed cut off.

AshLee Strong, spokeswoman for Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), said on Twitter that "The House cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution, so the House has recessed subject to the call of the chair."

With the cameras turned off, C-SPAN began broadcasting a Periscope livestream of the floor from Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), with the full graphics afforded to normal video feeds of the House floor.

"Cameras in chamber controlled by House. House is currently in recess subject to call. House cameras are not permitted to show sit-in," read the "Alert" on the bottom of CSPAN's shot.

Other outlets, including television outlets, also picked up livestream videos from various members of Congress.

"It's no surprise that the House Republican leadership is attempting to silence our efforts to echo the call of the American people to act on gun violence. It's time to end the obstruction and act," said Drew Hammill, spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).



View Bobby Rush on the shooting death of his son Rep. Bobby Rush talks about the shooting death of his son in 1999 in Chicago during the House Democrats sit-in on the floor of the House.

Hadas Gold is a reporter at Politico.