"Black Lives Matter" protesters interrupted Democratic presidential candidates Martin O'Malley, former governor of Maryland, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during their appearances Saturday at Netroots Nation, a progressive conference being held in Phoenix this year.
O'Malley was interrupted after just one question during a panel discussion with Jose Antonio Vargas, and Sanders had barely begun speaking before he was cut off.
Demonstrators began chanting, "What side are you on?" during a Q&A session with O'Malley. O'Malley allowed the protesters to finish, but drew boos when he said that "black lives matter, all lives matter, white lives matter," according to Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel. O'Malley later admitted that he made a mistake in his choice of words, and said he did not mean any disrespect.
Sanders was quickly interrupted when he spoke and told protesters that he agreed with them.
Sanders tried to continue speaking, but Vargas eventually ended the panel early.
While O'Malley and Sanders had a difficult time speaking on Saturday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, chose not to attend the conference and was campaigning in Arkansas instead.