Sen. Tim Sheehy, R‑Mont., intervened alongside Capitol Police to help remove a protester from a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing after the man disrupted the session. Video shared on X appears to show the protester’s hand caught in a door frame during the scuffle; witnesses and the arrested man said he was injured. The suspect, identified as Brian McGinnis, faces multiple charges including assault on an officer and resisting arrest. Capitol Police said three officers were treated for injuries and reiterated that protests are not permitted inside congressional buildings.
Sen. Tim Sheehy Aids Capitol Police in Removing Anti‑War Protester — Video Shows Man's Hand Caught in Door Frame
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., and U.S. Capitol Police officers try to remove Brian McGinnis from a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)(Andrew Harnik)
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Sheehy, R‑Mont., assisted U.S. Capitol Police officers in detaining a man who disrupted a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing Wednesday, video posted on X shows.
Sheehy wrote on X that Capitol Police tried to remove the protester from the hearing because 'he was fighting back,' adding that he 'decided to help out and deescalate the situation.' The senator's post included a repost of footage that appears to show Sheehy and three officers attempting to remove the man while his hand becomes trapped in a door frame.
In the video, the protester can be heard shouting, 'No one wants to fight for Israel,' while observers in the room shout, 'his hand, his hand!' After several moments of struggle, officers set the man back down and Sheehy returned to the front of the hearing room. A bystander asked the man if his hand was OK; he replied, 'No, it's not.'
Sheehy leaving the Senate chamber on Wednesday. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)(Chip Somodevilla)
Arrest, Charges and Responses
Capitol Police identified the arrested man as Brian McGinnis, 44, of North Carolina. Authorities said he faces three counts of assault on a police officer, three counts of resisting arrest, and a charge of crowding, obstructing and incommoding in an unlawful demonstration.
McGinnis is running for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina as a Green Party candidate and is listed as a Marine veteran on his campaign website. In a video posted on X Wednesday morning, McGinnis said he was in Washington to protest lawmakers' plans to send U.S. service members overseas and urged others who feel 'disillusioned and betrayed' to join demands for accountability.
Capitol Police said three officers were treated for injuries sustained during the incident. The department's statement described McGinnis as 'an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers' attempts to remove him from the room' and noted that the suspect 'got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room.'
The department reminded the public that protests are not allowed inside congressional buildings and pointed to permitted areas on Capitol Grounds for demonstrations. The incident occurred just before 3 p.m. in the Hart Senate Office Building during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing.
What remains unclear: Video captured part of the struggle, but the wider context and sequence of events leading up to the protest and arrest are still being reviewed. NBC News has reached out to McGinnis' campaign for comment; Sheehy's office directed reporters to his X post.
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