Over the weekend the Democratic Party of California held their state convention and they had a very special guest speaker. Congresswoman Maxine Waters was there, engaging in her usual shtick about how awful Donald Trump is and how he should have been impeached before being sworn in or whatever. It’s gained her a big following in the party’s liberal base and her frequently unhinged comments make her a sure fire crowd pleaser. But deep into her rather lengthy remarks something went wrong. A man approached the podium to speak to her, drawing jeers from the audience. A short time after he was escorted away Waters’ microphone suddenly went dead. As you can imagine, this didn’t sit well with the crowd and now an investigation is underway. (Los Angeles Times)

The head of the California Democratic Party African American Caucus said Monday he was working with state party officials to determine who was responsible for cutting off the sound to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters’ microphone as she spoke to the group at the party’s convention on Saturday.

“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,” Caucus Chairman Darren Parker said…

“Hey, leave her alone,” audience members shouted as he interrupted to speak to her privately, prompting Parker to show the man away.

“That’s all right, that’s OK — they try to shut me up all the time,” Waters quipped to loud cheers as she continued to speak.

LA Times reporter Jazmine Ulloa caught the video for her Twitter feed, showing the unidentified man attempting to speak to Waters and then being jeered and led away.

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

So who was it? Some nefarious Trump supporter sneaking in to shut down the congresswoman’s free speech? A political opponent? Nope. As it turns out, it was a contractor from an outside audio company who had been hired to handle the microphones, speakers and other equipment. And on top of that, the caucus meeting was already running late as Waters went on and on and on about impeaching Trump. By their own admission, when caucus events have run late in the past they’ve been billed by contractors and the hosting facility.

Putting two and two together here it’s not hard to imagine that this guy had instructions to try to get things wrapped up on schedule and was just asking Waters if she could finish up so they could get out on time and under budget. When he was immediately jeered by the crowd and dragged away, I’m guessing his next move was to simply cut the microphone in hopes that she’s stop talking and they could begin packing up the equipment.

But that would be a pretty boring story for the California Democrats to tell, wouldn’t it? Much better to make it look like The Man trying to shut her up and keep her down as she bravely resists Trump.