Tuesday night’s chaos didn’t just play out on stage. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

During a chaotic Democratic debate filled with candidates talking over each other on Tuesday night in Charleston, South Carolina, some members of the audience repeatedly booed and heckled some of the candidates onstage, prompting confusion among debate-watchers online. Most of the boos appeared to target Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, including, at times, when they were criticizing Michael Bloomberg.

lol i still cant tell if they are booing bloomberg or warren pic.twitter.com/kbgqOiOb8m — Problem Solver Politics (@PSPradio1) February 26, 2020

Sometimes it was difficult to tell who the small but loud group of audience members was targeting or supporting. In one instance, Sanders was booed after attacking Biden on trade.

Bernie Sanders defended giving gun manufacturers a pass by saying Joe Biden voted for bad trade agreements, and Joe was NOT having it. Bernie went on to say his position on gun control has evolved over time #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/c32uiv8g9V — MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) February 26, 2020

The reactions also distracted Sanders a few times, and at one point he responded to a heckler who had shouted out something during one of his answers.

Sanders just now



"Cuba made progress on education"



crowd boos



"really?" pic.twitter.com/apaH3fyLN0 — Problem Solver Politics (@PSPradio1) February 26, 2020

It’s the first debate of the primaries in which members of the audience have behaved like this, and their apparent preference for Mayor Bloomberg prompted some unsubstantiated theories online — to the point that the Bloomberg campaign officially denied, mid-debate, that it had paid anyone to support the candidate at the event (as it has done online).

It's normally fine for the party to sell debate tickets to donors, who golf-clap at candidates, maybe rooting for one but ok with all them. But all of a sudden, that's not the case anymore -- so it's out with the golf-claps, and in with the boos and the hooting and hollering. https://t.co/K1PvrzFRXi — Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) February 26, 2020

Some criticism was also leveled at the Democratic Party, since debate organizers first awarded tickets to people who sponsored the event with donations of at least $1,750. That elite-friendly practice is pretty standard, however, and the networks and campaigns were also given some tickets to distribute, as a party spokesperson later explained:

Literally the ticket process for every debate ever — but put on your tin foil hats everyone. https://t.co/u7adwp7JTr — Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) February 26, 2020

We’ll update this post if the boo-birds are identified.