NC Green Party Senate candidate charged after protesting Iran war at Senate hearing

Brian McGinnis yelled, "No one wants to fight for Israel" during a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing as police officers tried to pull him away

Published: March 5, 2026 9:57am

A North Carolina Green Party Senate candidate who is also a Marine veteran was charged in connection with protesting the Iran war at a Senate hearing Wednesday.

"No one wants to fight for Israel," Brian McGinnis, is seen and hearing yelling in a cellphone video of him at a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing, as police officers tried to pull him away.

McGinnis was wearing a Marine Corps uniform, and his campaign website states he is a Marine veteran, according to the video, posted by TV station WTVD

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, a former Navy SEAL, is seen attempting to assist the officers. U.S. Capitol Police said that McGinnis and three officers were injured in the incident.

"Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing," sheehy shared the video on X. "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."

McGinnis was charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Protests are prohibited inside congressional buildings.

The McGinnis campaign did not immediately respond to WTVD's request for comment.

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