The hearing was interrupted by protesters in pink clothing.

17:02, Thu, Apr 30, 2026 Updated: 17:14, Thu, Apr 30, 2026

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS

Pete Hegseth (Image: Getty)

Pete Hegseth's was interrupted by protesters heckling "war criminal!" as he attended a Pentagon hearing on Thursday (April 30). The US Defense Secretary was testifying for the second day before congressional leaders as the Trump administration official faces heightened scrutiny over the Iran war and the Pentagon's budget.

On Thursday, Mr Hegseth was speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill when a protester in the room interjected, yelling at him during his opening statement. "You're a war criminal. You should be arrested. What you're doing is despicable!" the heckler could be heard saying.

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The person, whose name is not immediately known, was removed from the hearing.

Mr Hegseth was defending the ongoing military operation in Iran and the Pentagon's $1.5trillion (£1.1trillion) budget request at the time of the interruption.

Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, began the hearing by noting that the US is in the most dangerous security environment since World War 2. He also praised Donald Trump’s use of the military. Through the war against Iran, the US President “has worked to remove the regime’s conventional military capabilities and force it back to the table for a permanent solution,” he said.

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