--- title: Protester Interrupts Dorsey Hearing and Auctioneer Steps In description: A protester interrupted the Dorsey hearing before an auctioneer turned representative drowned her out with a mock auction. canonical: https://time.com/5387788/dorsey-hearing-protestor/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-05T19:52:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T07:53:17.568Z og:title: This Member of Congress Shut Down a Protester by Auctioneering og:description: He disrupted her disruption with a fake auction to the room's delight og:url: https://time.com/5387788/dorsey-hearing-protestor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae864ac5d111c714/698939888fd2eebcdb35c8d6/protestorjackdorseyhearing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5765 og:image:height: 3243 og:image:alt: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Testifies To House Hearing On Company's Transparency and Accountability og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Member of Congress Shut Down a Protester by Auctioneering twitter:description: He disrupted her disruption with a fake auction to the room's delight twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae864ac5d111c714/698939888fd2eebcdb35c8d6/protestorjackdorseyhearing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Member of Congress Shut Down a Protester by Auctioneering > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5b3bd524-3468-4b46-b1a7-ce2bc55d5f62&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A Protester Interrupted Jack Dorsey's Hearing So an Auctioneer Faked an Auction to Drown Her Out [Watch (HLS stream): A Protester Interrupted Jack Dorsey's Hearing So an Auctioneer Faked an Auction to Drown Her Out](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0FZ8DAe5.m3u8) (1:20)  _Published 2018-09-05. Deep into the proceedings as Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey testifies during Wednesday's House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing before Congress, alt-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer stood up to disrupt the proceedings._ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Sep 5, 2018 7:52 PM UTC Deep into the proceedings as Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey testifies during Wednesday's House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing before Congress, alt-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer stood up to disrupt the proceedings. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Sep 5, 2018 7:52 PM UTC It wasn’t quite a scene straight out of an improv comedy show, but it was close. As [Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey](http://time.com/5360638/twitter-alex-jones-ban-dorsey/) testified during Wednesday’s House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing before Congress, alt-right [conspiracy theorist](http://time.com/4746773/rob-gronkowski-white-house-sean-spicer-reaction/) Laura Loomer stood up to disrupt the proceedings with a plea. “I’m asking you President Donald Trump. Please help us Mr. President, before it’s too late,” she said. “Because Jack Dorsey is trying to influence the election, to sway the election, so that Democrats can steal the election. That is why he is censoring and shadow banning conservatives.” Loomer has been banned from major social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook for violating the rules the rules in the past. This year, she alleged that the [shootings at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas](http://time.com/5286666/school-shootings-new-normal-santa-fe/) were staged. She was about to be swiftly dismissed from the room. But before she could finish, Missouri Rep. Billy Long took control of the room. And he drew on his past experience as an auctioneer of all things. Staging a mock auction to drown out the sound of her argument, he began rattling off dollar amounts in increments as though people were bidding. He appeared to have started at $12, amusing some in the room who appeared to appreciate the surprising moment. > [](https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1037415541558964224) You can see Long in action as an auctioneer in a past life in the video below. As to be expected, people were quick to sound off at the surprising moment. > [](https://twitter.com/kobrien%5Fscribe/status/1037422400495865858) > [](https://twitter.com/robferdman/status/1037422332686598144) ## Transcript [00:00] Chair now recognizes that. [ CROSSTALK ] Order. [00:04] Order. [ NOISE ] Order. We'll [00:08] have order [ CROSSTALK ] in the hearing room, or [00:11] you'll be asked to leave. [ CROSSTALK ] You'll, [00:13] [ CROSSTALK ] ma'am, [ CROSSTALK ] you'll please [00:15] take a seat or we'll have to have you, [ CROSSTALK ] [00:18] then you'll need to leave. [ INAUDIBLE ] What did she [00:29] say? I can't understand her. [00:34] What, what did she? [ INAUDIBLE ] $ 12. 50, $ 15, [00:36] $ 7. 50, $ 20, $ 2. 50, 5, 7. 50. 30. $ 30 down, [00:39] here's $ 2. 5, 5, 7. 50, $ 40. Hit $ 40, 2. 50, 5, 5. [00:42] 45, 7 and a half, 50. Hot $ 50 down here- Officer, will [00:46] you escort this young lady out please? Yep, two and a [00:49] half and now five. 75, 7 and a half, 70. Up, two and a [00:52] half now, five, 75, seven and a half, $ 80, to [00:56] 85, 90. At $ 100, and 10, 10, quarter, 1 and a [00:56] quarter, 1 and half, 75, to 2, 2 and a quarter. At two [00:59] and a half [ UNKNOWN ] 300 at three and a quarter, [01:02] at three and a quarter now, [ UNKNOWN ] 400, four [01:05] and a quarter, four and a half, [ UNKNOWN ] cell [01:08] phone there, four and a quarter, four and half, at four [01:08] and a half [ UNKNOWN ] 500, five and a quarter, five [01:11] and half, [ UNKNOWN ]. 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