Liputan6.com, Jakarta - A hearing of the United States Senate Armed Services Committee on March 4, 2026, in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., was marred by a dramatic incident after Brian McGinnis, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, was forcibly removed from the building after staging a vigorous protest against U.S. policy toward Israel.
The protest centered on McGinnis's concerns about potential U.S. military involvement in conflicts in the Middle East in support of Israel.
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McGinnis, a professional firefighter and father of four, publicly voiced his opposition to what he called "wars for Israel," repeatedly shouted that the American people do not want to "send their sons and daughters to fight for Israel!"
McGinnis, who has a background in pro-Palestinian advocacy and whose wife is Palestinian, claims that the U.S. military commitment in the region is driven more by special interests than by the will of the American electorate.
Incident and Broken Arm
When McGinnis refused to stop speaking and continued to protest, Capitol Police were forced to remove him from the chamber.
Video of the incident shows McGinnis resisting and refusing to leave the chamber.
Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, a Republican member of the Armed Services Committee and a former Navy SEAL, was involved.
Sheehy left his seat and physically assisted officers in removing McGinnis. Video footage shows Sheehy grabbing McGinnis as officers attempted to pry his arm free from the door frame.
McGinnis allegedly broke his arm during the struggle, with a cracking sound audible in the video.
However, Capitol Police denied this claim, stating that McGinnis "trapped his own arm in the door to fight off our officers and force his way back into the chamber."
He Will Faces Several Charges
Capitol Police also asserted that protests are not permitted inside the Capitol, and that McGinnis "put everyone in harm's way by violently resisting and resisting our officers' attempts to remove him from the chamber."
Following the incident, McGinnis was arrested and faces several charges, including three counts of assault on a police officer, three counts of resisting arrest, and one count of obstructing or disrupting an unlawful demonstration.
His campaign manager, Mark Elbourno, denied the assault charges, insisting that McGinnis "didn't attack anyone" but "just wanted to be heard," adding, "He was assaulted, actually. They broke his arm."
Who is Brian McGinnis?
Brian McGinnis is known as a vocal pro-Palestinian advocate, even once calling Israel a "ruthless force of ethnic cleansing."
He wore a keffiyeh, a symbol of solidarity with Palestine, during his protest in the Senate.
In his protest, McGinnis emphatically stated that "Israel is the reason for this war; America does not want to fight for Israel."
He criticized the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, alleging that American foreign policy in the Middle East is overly influenced by its long-term strategic relationship with Israel.
McGinnis argued that the US military commitment in the region does not reflect the will of the majority of Americans.
He believes that US support for Israel is driven by certain lobbies rather than the broader national interest and his protest aimed to voice an alternative view in a legislative forum discussing US defense policy.