This morning, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg faced questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee about how their companies handle myriad issues, including misinformation, content moderations, and foreign intrusion. And since it happened at a congressional hearing, it was open for anyone to attend. 
 
 So it shouldn’t have been entirely surprising that Infowars host Alex Jones decided to stop by. The well-known conspiracy theorist was recently banned on platforms including Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Though he claims these banned only made his online presence stronger, data shows that Infowars’s audience is shrinking. 
 
 This is perhaps why Jones attended the hearing–to, once again, enter the spotlight. He didn’t just want to hear what the technology giants had to say, but also intended to make his presence known. And he made quite the statement to Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. 
 
 According to Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer, Jones found Rubio in the hallways giving an interview during a hearing recess. He began talking over Rubio, accusing the United States of censorship akin to China’s. Rubio first attempted to answer his questions, then tried to ignore Jones’s heckling, but the troll kept going. 
 
 “Is that a heckler or the press?” Rubio asked. 
 
 Realizing Rubio was no longer going to answer his questions, Jones started calling Rubio a snake while laughing like a disturbed schoolboy. The online broadcaster then went to touch the senator on the shoulder, and Rubio recoiled. “Don’t touch me again, man,” he said with a death stare. 
 
 Ultimately, Rubio left to go back to the hearing while reporters asked Jones some questions. ||||| The exchange quickly went downhill when Sen. Marco Rubio warned Alex Jones, who was standing beside him in the hallway, to “not touch me again.” | Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO 'Frat boy': Alex Jones taunts Rubio in tense Senate standoff 
 
 Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and InfoWars host Alex Jones clashed outside a Senate Intelligence committee hearing today, with the lawmaker saying he’d “take care of” Jones as the far-right provocateur mockingly called him a “little gangster thug" and "frat boy." 
 
 Rubio, addressing reporters outside the hearing room, was badgered with questions by Jones, who made a surprise appearance at the Senate hearing devoted to foreign interference on social media. 
 
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 The exchange quickly went downhill when the senator warned the conspiracy-peddling host, who was standing beside him in the hallway, to “not touch me again.” 
 
 “I’m just patting you nicely,” Jones responded, before accusing Rubio of trying to get him arrested. 
 
 Rubio rebuffed the charge, adding: “I’ll take care of you myself.” 
 
 "Rubio just threatened to physically take care of me," Jones replied, an insinuation that Rubio disputed. 
 
 As Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey began their testimony before the committee, Jones livestreamed his entrance into the building and later took a seat in the first row of the hearing room, sitting mere feet away from the tech executives. 
 
 Internet companies including Facebook and Twitter removed or suspended Jones’ content last month for violating their terms of service. The action came as many conservatives, including President Donald Trump, accuse Silicon Valley of being biased against their views. ||||| (CNN) For the second time in a week, Sen. Kamala Harris was cut off by her Republican colleagues while posing questions at a Senate intelligence committee hearing -- drawing the spotlight to the potential 2020 contender. 
 
 While asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions about his refusal to answer questions Tuesday concerning conversations he may have had with President Donald Trump, the California Democrat was interrupted by Sen. John McCain of Arizona. 
 
 Senate intelligence chairman Richard Burr then stepped in and said: "Senators, we'll allow the chair to control the hearing. Sen. Harris, let him answer the question." 
 
 The exchange was an almost exact repeat of last week , when McCain cut in on her intense questioning of Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein, and Burr told her to stop and let Rosenstein answer. 
 
 The difference Tuesday was that Burr chastised both Harris and McCain -- and took a softer tone in rebuking Harris. 
 
 What changed over the course of the past week was discussion behind-the-scenes at the Capitol that Harris had effectively pulled Burr into a political trap last week that helped elevate her star. By aggressively shutting down Harris last week, Burr evoked the image of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shutting down Sen. Elizabeth Warren in February -- a move which sprung the "Nevertheless, she persisted" meme. 
 
 Warren, another top-tier potential 2020 contender, even slapped the #NeverthelessShePersisted hashtag of approval on Harris after the showdown. 
 
 Burr dialed his reaction back Tuesday. 
 
 However, at the start of the hearing, he offered a somewhat subtle dig at Harris: "I'm hopeful that members will focus their questions today on the Russia investigation, and not squander the opportunity by taking political or partisan shots." 
 
 During this week's hearing, Sessions repeatedly explained his non-disclosures of Russian contacts by citing what he called a longstanding Department of Justice policy. Asked by Harris about the policy's origin, he began discussing its principle. 
 
 Harris followed up, "Sir, I am not asking about you the principle. I am asking -- when you knew that you would be asked these questions and you would rely on that policy, did you not ask your staff to show you the policy that would be the basis for your refusing--" 
 
 At this point, McCain spoke over Harris, saying, "Chairman, the witness should be allowed to answer the question." 
 
 Harris went on to finish the question just before committee chairman Richard Burr chimed in that the panel would allow the chair to control the hearing. 
 
 Shortly after the exchange, Harris tweeted, "It was a simple question. Can Sessions point to the policy, in writing, that allows him to not answer a whole host of our questions today." ||||| click image Photo by Michael Vadon via Flickr. 
 
 Concerned constituents are raising their voices at a town hall in Tampa tonight, but Florida Sen. Marco Rubio won't be there.The town hall, scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the Tampa Letter Carriers Hall, was put together by constituents unaffiliated with any group. The constituents have extended this invitation to Rubio to discuss the concerns of Tampa residents.However, a spokesperson with Rubio's office reached out to us saying the senator isn't attending tonight's town hall because "the organizers are deceiving people by falsely advertising this event, which is not connected to us in any way."Rubio announced on Twitter Monday that he would be out of the country this week, attending meetings in Germany and France. But organizers for the town hall reached out to Rubio with an invitation over a week ago and didn't hear back from his office.Matt Wolking, Rubio's press secretary, says that organizers are using an online activist manual put together by the group Indivisible "to stage a hostile atmosphere, record themselves booing no matter what is said, and refuse to give up the microphone."In the manual, Indivisible states that constituents should "be polite, but persistent and demand real answers." The guide advocates for constituents to call out politicians who don't give real answers, and for audience members to amplify this by either "The guide also advocates not giving up the microphone "until you’re satisfied with the answer."Sarah Dohl, a spokesperson for Indivisible, says "Around the country, groups of constituents, both inspired by our guide and not, are charting their own path as they try to engage with their representatives. If Senator Rubio does not wish to engage with his own constituents who are asking him to talk to them, that’s his choice and he shouldn’t hide behind a PDF on the internet."She went on to say, "Ultimately, the point of a town hall is to have an open and honest exchange between constituents and their elected representative. It is the job of elected officials to listen to and represent their constituents, and that involves hearing criticism - in some cases, passionate criticism."Melissa Gallagher, the organizer for the Tampa town hall , says that Rubio's spokesman's comments could not be further from the truth. She says she is an individual acting with the help of volunteers and isn't a part of Indivisible or any other group."We’re engaging in a civil, non-confrontational, peaceful dialogue, as is our right to assemble and demand proper representation from our senator," she says.Gallagher mentioned that not only has she never heard of the manual Rubio's office referenced in regard to tonight's event, but that she set up the town hall meeting with the help of a few other volunteers, unaffiliated with any formal organization."Tampa constituents have reached out by phone, by email, and in person to communicate and voice concerns about our political environment," she says."Many constituents have been barred from the office building by using security, barricades and police."Gallagher claims that when she went to a meeting with one of Rubio's Tampa staffers, she noticed that the phones didn't ring once during her 20-minute meeting. Suspecting something was wrong, Gallagher says when she got downstairs to the lobby, she called the office herself, which went straight to a full voicemail box, even though she had just been upstairs talking to staff moments before.It's one of the reasons she decided to plan a town hall in the first place."Not everyone has the ability or the luxury to meet with our representatives during office hours," she says.We've previously reported about protests outside of Rubio's Orlando office (which, he's almost never at), with constituents calling for him to hold a town hall on issues like repealing the Affordable Care Act, and denouncing Trump's cabinet picks.So far, Rubio hasn't announced a single scheduled town hall meeting in Tampa, Miami or in Orlando.Gallagher says that even though Rubio's office has denied that he will attend the town hall, her invitation still stands, even if he just wants to Skype in during the event."We would like for his office to recognize the demand of Tampa Bay constituents, the demand for them to hold a town hall in our city," she says.If Rubio is avoiding town hall meetings because of groups like Indivisible, it's clear now that he is missing the real concerns of ordinary constituents who are looking for answers. It remains to be seen how this strategy will work out for him in the long run.We've reached out to Rubio's office for further comment.Marco Rubio's office has responded and stated, "From the beginning, our office made it clear to other members of Gallagher’s planning committee, the venue’s owners, and others who have contacted us about this event that Senator Rubio is unable to attend." The response went on to say, "We have been fully accessible and responsive to constituents, and our staff in Tampa has met with dozens of these liberal activists – including Gallagher about half a dozen times."
– The biggest stars of Wednesday's Senate Intelligence Committee hearing seem to be an empty chair and Alex Jones of InfoWars. The former was reserved for Google's leadership, which unlike Twitter and Facebook was a no-show. The latter got into it with Sen. Marco Rubio outside the hearing, which Fast Company notes is open to the public; Politico reports Jones sat in the first row just behind Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey. During a hearing recess, Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer tweeted that Jones went into the hallway outside the room and got into a "heated exchange" with Rubio. Video Sommer tweeted of the exchange shows Rubio speaking with reporters as Jones keeps interrupting with questions and statements before moving on to calling Rubio a "snake" and "frat boy." Rubio replies, "I swear to God, I don't know who you are, man." As Jones tries to clarify, Rubio tells him "not to touch me again." Replies Jones, "I'm just patting you nicely," before suggesting Rubio wants to get him arrested. Rubio says, "You're not going to get arrested man. I'll take care of you myself." Jones tells him, "You are literally like a little gangster thug." As Rubio excuses himself to go back to the committee, he refers to Jones as "this clown." Responds Jones, "Go back to your bathhouse."