Democrat Ejected for Impersonating Congressman

A delegate from California has been turfed out of the Democratic convention for allegedly lying to police and claiming to be a member of Congress after a late-night drunken incident.

The delegate reportedly returned to his hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina after partying hard on Saturday night with another man who had to be carried in and was placed unconscious on the floor of the lobby.

Paramedics were called, and when police showed up the delegate allegedly lied, saying he was a congressman to try to persuade police that the other man, who had had too much to drink, should be allowed to sleep it off in his hotel room.

Asked to show his credentials, the delegate's lie was exposed. The unconscious man was taken to hospital but later released. The delegate, who was not arrested, was asked on Sunday to end his participation in the convention.

"Oftentimes at conventions, people who have not seen each other for a long time gather and sometimes people have too much to drink," party spokesman Tenoch Flores told the Sacramento Bee.

Democratic delegates from across the United States are converging on Charlotte to formally nominate Barack Obama as the party's presidential candidate in November against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

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