Gaius Memmius was a tribune of the plebs

Tribune

Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...

 in 111 BC and attacked certain aristocrats on a charge of corrupt relations with Jugurtha

Jugurtha

Jugurtha or Jugurthen was a King of Numidia, , born in Cirta .-Background:Until the reign of Jugurtha's grandfather Masinissa, the people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from the other Libyans in North Africa...

. Sallust

Sallust

Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...

 refers to Memmius as "a man fiercely hostile to the power of the nobles" and states that he gave speeches whipping up the plebs

Plebs

The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...

, urging them not to accept the behaviour of the nobles.

In 100 BC, Memmius was a candidate for the consulship

Roman consul

A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...

 of the following year (99 BC), but was slain in a riot, stirred up by his rival the praetor

Praetor

Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...

 Gaius Servilius Glaucia

Gaius Servilius Glaucia

Gaius Servilius Glaucia was a Roman politician who served as tribune of the Plebs in 101 BC and praetor in 100 BC. He arranged for the murder of an elected tribune of plebs to make spot for Lucius Appuleius Saturninus who was the next one to become tribune by the votes...

..

Sallust describes him as an orator, but Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

had a poor opinion of him.