BREAKING NEWS

US House Democrats broadcast 'sit-in' on social media after cameras shut down

Democrats demanding action on gun control turned to Twitter's Periscope and Facebook's live video platform to broadcast their "sit-in" on the floor of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday after the chamber's cameras shut down.

Representative Scott Peters of California told Reuters he downloaded the online video platform Periscope from the House floor after it became clear that chamber cameras were not operating.

The protest was the latest move by Democrats to persuade the Republican majority in Congress to take up votes on gun control measures in response to last week's mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, the deadliest in modern US history.

"The speaker (Paul Ryan) controls the cameras," Peters said. "We noticed that over lunch, he turned them off - allowed them to be turned off."

Ryan's spokesman, AshLee Strong, said in a statement: "The House cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution, so the House has recessed subject to the call of the chair."