Missouri Republican Congressman Billy Long has used a unique set of personal skills to drown out a protester interrupting a committee hearing involving Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
Mr Long broke out in an auctioneers chant to interrupt the protestor, alt-right writer Laura Loomer, during the House Energy and Commerce Committee's hearing into social media.
Ms Loomer, who previously alleged that school shootings in Santa Fe, Texas, were staged, interrupted the hearing with complaints against Mr Dorsey.
“President Donald Trump, help us. Please help us Mr President, before it is too late - because Jack Dorsey is trying to influence the election,” she said, in reference to Trump’s recent statement that social media sites are filtering out content posted by conservatives.
Laura Loomer during her protest Source: Reuters
Ms Loomer, who has previously been suspended from Twitter, was quickly ushered out of the hearing by authorities as Mr Long’s bizarre intervention drew laughter from the bemused audience.
As Ms Loomer left the room, a quip from Mr Long drew more laughter from the chamber: “I yield back."
Mr Long’s fellow Republican Congressman Greg Walden also saw a lighter side to the incident.
“I think our auctioneer in residence is going to get Tweeted about today,” he said.
Mr Long has been an auctioneer for three decades and has been inducted into the Missouri Professional Auctioneers' Hall of Fame, according to the House of Representatives’ webpage.
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, another right-wing protestor attempted to get his voice heard.
Conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Jones crashed a separate hearing about social media and foreign interference in US elections and clashed with Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
Mr Jones, whose Infowars site has been blocked by a bevy of websites, denounced what he called "a plan to de-platform conservatives, just like communist China".
