Sen Tim Sheehy, who was seen helping Capitol police officers to throw out an anti-war protestor during a Senate hearing, explained the situation on Wednesday. The protestor-activist, identified as Brian C McGinnis of North Carolina, was arrested and faces three counts of assaulting a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest and unlawful demonstration, the Capitol Police said in a statement.
Tim Sheehy-Brian McGinnis video
In a video, Sheehy could be seen assisting officers who were involved in an altercation with McGinnis, who resisted arrest. The men grabbed the former Marine and pushed him through a doorway.
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The clip showed McGinnis standing up and shouting during the Senate Armed Services hearing as police officers grabbed him and tried to remove him. McGinnis was protesting the US military campaign in Iran, shouting, “America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel!”
The officers pulled McGinnis toward the exit. Montana Sen Tim Sheehy, who is a Republican member of the Armed Services panel and a former Navy SEAL, pulled the protester’s arm off the door.
What did Capitol Police say?
Capitol Police explained the arrest, stating, “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.”
The department further added that McGinnis “got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room,” and said he was treated for his injuries.
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Tim Sheehy gives update
In a statement on social media, the Montana senator said that he was trying to de-escalate the situation.
“This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one,” Sheehy said on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. “I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.”
A video posted on an X account under the name Brian McGinnis appears to show the same man standing outside the Capitol on Wednesday morning before the hearing. The account’s description says he is a “Green Party Candidate for US Senate.”
He says in the video that he was “here in D.C. trying to speak out against the Senate” to ask them about sending the country into war.
“Anyone who feels disillusioned and betrayed by our government, you are not alone,” he says in the video.
(With AP inputs)