The chairman of the California Democratic Party’s African-American Caucus is questioning why U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ mic was apparently turned off while criticizing President Donald Trump during a speech this past weekend.
“This is a very unusual situation, and we are collectively trying to figure out a path forward to address what happened and make sure these things do not happen in the future,” said Chairman Darren Parker.
“We are working directly with statewide officers to make sure that these outside contractors are properly instructed on how to act and how to treat our guests.”
Waters, who has been a national leader in the political opposition to the Trump administration, was delivering a speech at the party’s state convention, in which she sharply condemned the nation’s controversial leader. But in the middle of her address, a man reportedly approached her at the podium.
“That’s all right, that’s OK – they try to shut me up all the time,” Waters said as the audience cheered.
The California state representative’s sound was cut off shortly after, leading the ranking Democrat to finish her speech from the convention center’s floor.
“I want you to join with me,” she told listeners. “I want you to tweet. I want you to go on Facebook. I want you to make telephone calls. I want you to write letters. And I want you to say, ‘impeach 45.’”
Chairman Parker said caucus leaders later determined that the audio service was provided by an outside service that was hired for the event. A manager for the Sacramento Convention Center told The Los Angeles Times that the contractors who pulled the plug were not center employees.
Audience members were outraged that a convention staff employee attempted to cut US Rep. @MaxineWaters‘ speech short. #cadem17 pic.twitter.com/IeQy0H2JHd
— Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) May 21, 2017
US Rep. @MaxineWaters continues speaking after convention staff cut off the sound at the African American Caucus meeting. #cadem17 pic.twitter.com/N7C90iJq65
— Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) May 21, 2017
The shutting off of the microphone may not have been political, however, as the caucus convention reportedly ran over time. Parker said that running past the time slot causes the organization to be billed for the extra expenses.
“We are working directly with statewide officers to make sure that these outside contractors are properly instructed on how to act and how to treat our guests,” he said.