Senator Tim Sheehy, a Republican from Montana, found himself in the middle of a controversy on Wednesday after videos emerged of a protester being forcibly removed from a US Senate hearing. According to CBS News, the protester was identified as Brian McGinnis, who was reportedly seen wearing a US Marine Corps dress uniform
A video of the incident shows McGinnis shouting as officers attempt to remove him from the room. At one point, he can be heard yelling: “No one wants to fight for Israel!” as he holds on to the hearing room door. Onlookers are heard reacting in the footage. “His hand, his hand! Oh! His hand! Oh, my God. Oh, shit,” one person shouts. Officers can be heard telling him: “Sir. Sir. Sir. Let go of your hand. Let go the door. Let go. Let go.”
Amid this chaos at the senate hearing, viral claims cropped up stating that Senator Sheehy had broken the arm of McGinnis while assisting the Capitol Police to take him away. One account on X, sharing a video of the incident, wrote: “US Senator breaks the hand of a retired marine for his protest against war for Israel.” Another said, “The senator with audacity to breaks Marine veteran Hand.”
However, none of the claims remain true as no authority has spoken about any injury sustained by McGinnis.
Senator Sheehy later addressed the incident in a statement posted on X. “Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate 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,” he wrote.
On his campaign website, McGinnis details his service in the US Marine Corps, stating that he completed one enlistment as a Light Armored Vehicle Crewman until June 2004. He says he deployed during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 and later joined the All-Marine boxing team. After his discharge, he attended John Wood Community College in Quincy, Illinois, where he earned an associate’s degree in education.
The footage shows Senator Sheehy leaving the scene after the removal, at one point exchanging expletives with an audience member.
The incident has drawn attention online, with some veterans and anti-war activists expressing support for his protest.
