A Marine veteran and Green Party candidate for the United States Senate in North Carolina was injured and arrested on Wednesday after disrupting a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing to protest American and Israeli military action against Iran.
Brian McGinnis, dressed in his military uniform, stood up approximately 30 minutes into the hearing and began shouting, “No one wants to fight for Israel!” and “America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war!” according to videos that have since gone viral on social media .
Capitol Police officers immediately moved to remove McGinnis from the hearing room. During the struggle, Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and member of the Armed Services panel, left his seat and joined officers in attempting to eject the protester .
As officers and Sheehy pushed McGinnis toward the exit, the protester grabbed onto the door frame. An audible snap was heard as his arm became wedged in the doorway. Witnesses in the room could be heard exclaiming, “His hand, his hand! Oh! His hand! Oh, my God,” and “Senator Sheehy broke the arm of a US Marine” .
McGinnis, who served in the Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004, was treated for his injuries along with three Capitol Police officers who were also hurt during the confrontation .
Capitol Police confirmed McGinnis’s arrest, stating he faces three counts of assaulting a police officer, three counts of resisting arrest, and one count of unlawful demonstration .
“This 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,” Capitol Police said in a statement .
Senator Sheehy defended his actions on social media platform X, writing: “Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protester from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and de-escalate 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” .
Capitol Police blamed McGinnis for his own injury, saying he “got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room” .
Sheehy’s involvement drew criticism from veterans’ rights groups. Paul Rieckhoff, a veterans’ rights activist and podcaster, said: “This is very, very ugly. And no U.S. senator needs to inject himself into this situation. For the safety of everyone — including himself. Just unnecessary and terrible to watch. This is what an America falling apart looks like” .
Earlier in the day, a video posted to McGinnis’s X account showed him outside the Capitol explaining his intentions. “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 when our elected officials said that there would be no world war,” he said. “Anyone who feels disillusioned and betrayed by our government, you are not alone” .
The incident occurred as the Senate was voting on a war powers resolution that would require congressional approval before further military action against Iran. The resolution failed on a 47-53 vote, largely along party lines .
Sheehy, who flipped Montana’s Senate seat in 2024, has received more than $600,000 from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC and its donors, according to Track AIPAC, a website that tracks donations to U.S. lawmakers .
