A Marine veteran sustained a broken arm after Capitol Police and a GOP senator forcibly removed him from a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.
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The Capitol Police confirmed to USA Today that the Marine veteran was identified as Brian McGinnis. During the hearing, McGinnis was heard in the audience, saying, “Israel is the reason for this war. America does not want to fight this war for Israel.”
As he was being dragged out of the room, McGinnis was heard shouting, “No one wants to fight for Israel.”
As he was being dragged away from the room by three Capitol Police officers and Sen. Tim Sheehy, McGinnis’ arm was broken.
“He was fighting back,” Sheehy stated in a post on X. “I decided to help out and de-escalate the situation. This gentleman came to the Capitol building looking for a confrontation, and he got one.”
The Capitol Police also issued a statement about the incident. “Wednesday afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officer’s attempts to remove him from the room.”
The Marine Veteran and 3 Capitol Police Officers Were Injured in the Scuffle
McGinnis, along with three Capitol Police officers, was treated for injuries. The Marine veteran is now facing three counts of assault on a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest and crowding, obstruction, and incommoding for the demonstration.
“The suspect, who got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers,” the Capitol Police shared. “And force his way back into the hearing room, was also treated.”
Following the incident, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan called for order, issuing a warning to protesters still in the hearing.
“Just a reminder to all our witnesses, Capitol Police will escort any protesters out of the hearing room,” Sullivan stated. “We ask for calm in these hearings.”
Capitol Police then echoed the senator, stating, “Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed.”
Before the hearing, McGinnis, who is running for the U.S. Senate as a Green Party candidate in North Carolina, also shared in a video on X that he was traveling to Washington, D.C. He wanted to speak with senators about the Iran conflict.
“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’s way,” he further explained. “When our elected officials said that there would be no world war.”