Democratic lawmakers joined alt-left protesters who want to ban conservative news websites at a protest outside of the Federal Communications Commission, Thursday.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D. Calif.) told the crowd of protesters and antifa members to "stay woke" in fighting against FCC chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to roll back Obama era net neutrality rules.
Politico Pro reported that four Democrats joined the protest, which included members of the alt-left groups who have targeted Pai and held protests in his neighborhood. Politico did not mention protesters wearing masks and identifying themselves as part of the antifa movement. They held signs advocating to ban news websites such as the Drudge Report and Breitbart.
"We must stay vigilant," Lee said. "We must insist that our freedom of speech is preserved."
Senators Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), Ed Markey (D., Mass.), and Rep. Jared Polis (D., Colo.) also "joined the activists" protesting Pai's proposal, which would bring less regulation for Internet service providers.
The FCC voted 2-1 Thursday afternoon to begin the process of reversing net neutrality rules, including Title II, which subjected Internet companies to regulations on how they can manage traffic on their networks. The proposal will now be open to public comment for 90 days.
Politico mentioned Protect Our Internet as one of the groups that organized the FCC protest, but failed to mention the group's ties to members of DisruptJ20 and antifa, which have been involved in violent protests against the presidential inauguration and conservative speakers on college campuses.