A Democratic National Committee working group vote was interrupted on Friday when security attempted to take a sign away from a protester who, in response, voiced his issue with the process being "tainted."
The unity reform commission was meeting in Washington, D.C. to finalize its formal list of recommended reforms for the Democratic Party following the 2016 elction, including taking dramatic cuts to the individual voting power of superdelegates, ABC News reported.
As members of the commission prepared to vote on each individual recommendation, two men silently held protest signs.
When a security guard tried to take the signs out of their hands, one of the men stepped forward with his sign reading "Democratic Party or Undemocratic Party?"
He began to speak when security guards continued to try to take the sign.
"Is a sign that dangerous?" the protester asked.
Another protester added that his sign had been taken from him before he even entered the meeting room.
"Excuse me, this is a public meeting, this process is tainted, you know that," the first man said, addressing the room. "The public was largely excluded by not being invited, by not being told–when we signed up we were never told the time or the room for this meeting, you know this is a tainted meeting."
"When a few people figure out how to participate by just sitting here, you want to take a sign away," the man continued. "I think that’s a mistake. It underscores the problem with how the DNC has not learned the lessons from the past."
The woman running the meeting, unity reform commission chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, cut in to say the members respected the grassroots organizers in attendance.
"I think all of the commission members deeply respect the grassroots that are here. And I think if you can just take your seat and hold your sign, we are all comfortable with that," Dillon said and was met with nods and murmurs of agreement, along with a a weak clap, from commission members.
Before sitting down, a second man holding the same sign offered some of his recommendations he wished the DNC would adopt. Among his recommendations was that the Democratic party do more to prevent favoritism.
"Another of my suggestions was that we need to do everything we can to prevent DNC favoritism," the protester said.