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Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA,) who represents California's 33rd L.A. area district in Congress, took to the House floor on Friday to play the audio released by Pro Publica earlier this week of wailing children inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility.
"Why are we hiding this from the American people!?" he pleaded with the chamber.
Rep. Karen Handel, who was serving as the presiding officer at the time, demanded that he suspend the playing of the audio under Rule 17 of the House rules, although there's no mention of a prohibition on the use of electronic devices on the floor of the House. Lieu just continued to let it play.
You can watch the powerful video below:
Ted Lieu plays the ProPublica audio of crying children in detention centers on the House floor. Karen Handel, who… https://t.co/E0QtTLJ8Mp— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1529689203.0
Lieu had a message for Handel's call for "decorum" on the House floor:
2300 kids were ripped away from parents with no real plan to reunite them. I can't play the @ProPublica audio of th… https://t.co/TVaFwnxyDq— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1529691623.0
"F*ck decorum."
Many joined Lieu by amplifying his message on social media:
"The gentleman will suspend!" Dem @tedlieu, on US House floor, plays @ProPublica audio of wailing children in dete… https://t.co/iYrkDm800A— Michael Mathes (@Michael Mathes) 1529688997.0
"Why are we hiding this from the American people?" - @tedlieu #FamiliesBelongTogther https://t.co/dwl2dt6soO— Amnesty International (@Amnesty International) 1529695149.0
Watch Rep. Ted Lieu play audio of refugee children crying for their parents on the House floor. Then Rep. Karen Han… https://t.co/vW87Q59mZa— Scott Dworkin (@Scott Dworkin) 1529696267.0
And Twitter was on Lieu's side, thanking him for speaking out:
@schroedingereqn @kylegriffin1 @RepKHandel Ted Lieu is doing the right thing. The fact that Handel is trying to sto… https://t.co/yNP9RBxsBU— J (@J) 1529690010.0
@kylegriffin1 Thank you @tedlieu for being a true leader.— Wear Your Dissent | Shop for Resisters & Feminists (@Wear Your Dissent | Shop for Resisters & Feminists) 1529689362.0
@kylegriffin1 Thank you @tedlieu for giving a voice to those children!— Wallflower (@Wallflower) 1529689752.0
@kylegriffin1 We love you @tedlieu - once we allow the truth to be hidden, it's all over. #TrumpConcentrationCamps— banegirl ⚖️ (@banegirl ⚖️) 1529689690.0
@kylegriffin1 @Etomi Ted Lieu is an American hero.— 🌊(((Sukie🌹Jones)))🌊 (@🌊(((Sukie🌹Jones)))🌊) 1529701196.0
Indeed.