Rep. Ted Lieu Plays the Disturbing Audio of Children in Detention Center on the House Floor

.@RepTedLieu plays @ProPublica audio from detention center on House floor: "The American people need to hear this…"

"The sergeant of arms will enforce the rules of decorum." pic.twitter.com/kFP8L5ysKk

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 22, 2018

On the House floor on Friday, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) attempted to play the disturbing audio of migrant children separated at the United States border from their parents.

“Imagine being a child, when you were young, your parents were likely the most important people in your life,” Lieu said during his speech.

“Imagine being ripped away from your mother and father and not knowing if you would ever see them again,” he continued on.

“What must that sound like?” he then said, as the audio, obtained by ProPublica, of the sounds of children sobbing while a border control agent mocked the “orchestra” around him started to play.

Rep. Karen Handel (R-GA), who was presiding over the House session for the day, then interrupted saying the “gentleman will suspend.”

Handel then tried to cite Rule 17 as the reason Lieu must stop.

Lieu, however, was not having it.

“The American people need to hear this ProPublica tape,” he said, also disagreeing with Handel’s interpretation of the House rule.

At one point, Handel called for the Sargeant of Arms to enforce “the rules of decorum” but the audio continued to be heard and Lieu remained at the podium.

Finally, after someone approached Lieu and spoke to him for a few seconds, the audio stopped and Lieu said simply, “I yield back.”

Watch the moment on the House floor, via C-Span.

[image via screengrab]