Standout moments from Democratic sit-in on the House floor

An unprecedented sit-in by Democratic members of Congress on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives over gun control turned into an overnight social media sensation before Congress adjourned early Thursday morning.

Democrats pressed on for more than 24 hours before bringing their protest to an end that afternoon.

Just before noon on Wednesday, a small group of Democratic lawmakers sat down together on the House floor of the Capitol to demand votes on proposals to strengthen background checks so that suspected terrorists could not buy firearms. They delivered blistering indictments of their Republican counterparts for what they consider to be government inaction in the face of ongoing gun violence.

Here are some of the biggest moments, from the beginning of the protest to its end:

A bizarre clash with Paul Ryan in the dead of night

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called the House back into session overnight and briefly addressed the commotion before proceeding almost as if nothing unusual was happening before him.

“The chair appreciates that members will differ on matters of policy and will seek to express those differences,” Ryan said, as Democrats chanted, “No Bill, No Break!” in protest. That rallying cry had become the hashtag — #nobillnobreak — for the event on Twitter as Democrats said they would refuse to go on break until the House took up and voted on the gun control measure.

“But the chair would hope,” Ryan continued, “that the business of the House could be conducted in a fashion that respects positively on the dignity and the decorum of this institution to which we all belong.”

Democrats obliged the Speaker when he called for a major spending bill, which was approved, before adjourning the session again around 3:15 a.m. The Republicans swiftly left and were greeted by more taunts outside from protesters gathered outside the Capitol.

Democrats break rules to broadcast their actions online

Republicans turned off the House cameras midday Wednesday after calling a recess, but Democrats continued to broadcast their protest and speeches via social media.

All members of the House of Representatives vote on the rules governing the floor at the beginning of the Congress. Technically, no personal cameras or electronic devices are allowed on the floor.

Slideshow: Democrats stage gun-control House sit-in >>>

C-SPAN, which has no control over the House cameras, picked up the Periscope and Facebook live feeds of Democratic representatives to continue airing their impassioned speeches, in which they repeatedly accused the GOP of valuing the interests of the National Rifle Association over the safety of the American people.

Howard Mortman, the communications director for C-SPAN, said the TV network is a nonprofit dedicated to showing what’s going on in Congress, but they are not allowed to have their own camera in the chamber.

“Clearly when the sit-in is happening and they are broadcasting themselves on social media, we want to be able to stick with the story and show what’s happening on the floor, so we picked up the feeds,” he said in an interview with Yahoo News.

Mortman said C-SPAN has dipped into Periscope and Facebook in the past to supplement its coverage, but this is the first time the network used social media sources to sustain a long-term broadcast.

“This was a milestone moment for C-SPAN to show the House floor that way,” he said.

Legislators used their cellphones in different ways to communicate their message with the outside world. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., for example, used FaceTime to participate in an interview with CNN from a cloakroom after being asked to leave the House floor.

And Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., conducted 10-second Snapchat interviews with her Democratic colleagues.

“When the cameras went off, my reporter instincts kicked in. Over the last day, I’ve interviewed over 70 members of Congress (and counting) on Snapchat about the significance of this sit-in protest,” she wrote in a post on Facebook.

A similar standoff took place in 2008 when House Democrats were in the majority and House Republicans were holding the floor. Nancy Pelosi, then House Speaker, refused to schedule a vote on offshore drilling and put the chamber in recess. Democrats, as a senior House GOP leadership aide pointed out, not only cut the C-SPAN cameras, but the lights as well.

Republicans were not impressed by Wednesday’s demonstration, which they characterized as a “publicity stunt.”

“The House cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution, so the House has recessed subject to the call of the chair,” AshLee Strong, the press secretary for Ryan, said in a statement.

Jackie Speier presents a bullet that struck her

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., brought a bullet that was taken from her body and labeled “evidence” to the protest, holding it aloft while outlining what it feels like to be shot.

“I cannot describe the pain of being shot, of living in a disfigured body that is a daily reminder of my experience,” she said.

In November 1978, Speier, then 28, was shot five times while investigating the People’s Temple in Jonestown, Guyana, with San Mateo Rep. Leo Ryan, who died in the shooting.

“When I was still alive, my grandmother’s face kinda flashed in front of me and she was one of my ‘sheroes,’ and I thought to myself, ‘I’m not gonna have her live through my funeral if I can avoid it,’” she recalled years later.

Protesters sing ‘We Shall Overcome’

House Democrats resorted to the sit-in after growing even more frustrated with Republicans in the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting, in which a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others. Throughout the day, they demanded a vote on the so-called “no fly, no buy” bill, which is intended to stop suspected terrorists from buying guns.

House Democrats broke into the song “We Shall Overcome,” the civil rights anthem popularized by folk singer Pete Seeger, after Republicans reconvened the session. They changed the lyrics of the popular refrain to: “We shall pass a bill some day.”

Elizabeth Warren brings Dunkin’ Donuts

In a moment anyone outside Congress could understand, the up-all-night crew perked up once someone showed up bearing doughnuts.

Rep. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., brought several boxes from Dunkin’ Donuts, which is based in her home state, for her fellow protesters. They were likely hungry after a long day of holding the House floor. According to witnesses, the Democrats erupted into applause when she announced, “I just brought Dunkin’ Donuts!”

‘Radical Islam killed these people!’ Louie Gohmert shouts

Just as Democrats tend to think Republicans underestimate the danger of easy access to firearms, Republicans tend to think Democrats underestimate the danger of jihadists. GOP lawmakers confronted the protesters by arguing that “radical Islamic terrorism” (a phrase they often lament that President Obama does not say) is the problem — not guns.

“We are talking about radical Islam! Radical Islam killed these people!” Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, shouted at the House Democrats.

The following morning, a much calmer Gohmert appeared on “Fox & Friends” to explain what brought him to that moment.

“This had been going on for hours. It should have been stopped hours before,” he said. “Even some of the long-term Democrats said, ‘This is really getting out of hand. You guys need to take over and stop the chaos. This is a little scary.’”

Gohmert said it was disheartening to see American heroes like Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., an icon of the civil rights era, use civil disobedience tactics to “take away civil rights.”

“It’s insane to try to take away our civil rights, our Second Amendment rights. And I’ll tell you, the gun-free zones are where these terrorists like to go,” he said.

Democrats wind down sit-in

House Democrats brought their sit-in to a close more than 24 hours after it started and left the House for a press conference outside the Capitol.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the legislators protesting truly believed that they would win the vote over gun control if it were permitted because 85 to 90 percent of the American people support “responsible background checks” and the “no fly, no buy” legislation.

“Since Orlando, probably nearly a couple hundred people — at least over 150 people — have died from gun violence in the streets of our country,” Pelosi said. “We want to address that issue as well as to deeply pray for those who lost their lives and their family members in Orlando and all of the mass shootings before that, but also remembering those who lose their lives to gun violence every single day.”