A Marine Veteran and Green Party candidate in North Carolina’s Senate race, Brian McGinnis, was forcibly ejected and arrested on Wednesday after interrupting a Congressional hearing to protest U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran.
According to CBS News, the incident, which has since gone viral, took place during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing that featured testimony from senior military officials on military readiness.
Just 30 minutes into the session, McGinnis, dressed in his military uniform, reportedly stood up and began yelling, “No one wants to fight for Israel!” and “America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war!”
Members of the Capitol Police reportedly attempted to remove him from the hearing room, but he struggled with the officers, according to videos from the confrontation.
“At one point, when McGinnis and police were near the doorway to the hearing room, Sheehy left the dais and began assisting the Capitol Police officers in lifting him up and ejecting him from the room.
“While authorities attempted to pull McGinnis out of the room, his left hand appeared to get stuck between the door and the frame. Sheehy then appears to try to dislodge it, at which point someone accuses him of breaking McGinnis’ hand. Somebody later asked McGinnis if his hand was okay, and he responded, ‘No, it’s not.’
“McGinnis was later escorted out of the room by police officers while Sheehy sat back down. While outside the room, McGinnis is heard on the video saying his left arm was broken,” the report continued.
His campaign manager, Mark Elbourno, later confirmed to CBS News that McGinnis was placed under arrest and transported to George Washington University Hospital.
Elbourno reportedly said he attended the hearing with McGinnis because they wanted to hear officials out.
He said McGinnis stood up and pressed the Senate to stop funding the war with Iran because he “couldn’t take their lies anymore,” and denied that McGinnis assaulted the officers.
“He wasn’t assaulting anybody. He just wanted to be heard [and was] speaking loud and clear. He was assaulted, actually. They broke his arm,” he told CBS News.
However, the U.S. Capitol Police reportedly said in a statement that McGinnis “got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room.”
According to the police, McGinnis is facing three counts of assaulting a police officer, three counts of resisting arrest and one count of crowding, obstructing and incommoding — meaning he was allegedly blocking an entrance or passageway — for interrupting the committee hearing.
The police said he “put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers’ attempts to remove him from the room,” adding that three police officers were treated for injuries by local emergency medical services.
“Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings,” the Capitol Police said. “There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed.”
Earlier on Wednesday, a video on McGinnis X’s account showed him saying, “I’m here in D.C. trying to speak out against the Senate and ask them why they’re going to send our men and women to harm’ way when our elected officials said that it would be no world war. Anybody who feels disillusioned and betrayed by our government, you’re not alone. Join us in demanding accountability for this betrayal.”
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, who was reported to have assisted several police officers in physically ejecting McGinnis, wrote in a separate X post that he joined the officers to “deescalate the situation.”
“This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence,” he added.
