"You're a War Criminal!" — Protesters Repeatedly Heckle Hegseth at Army Conference in DC
WASHINGTON, D.C. — War Secretary Pete Hegseth's headline appearance at the U.S. Army's biggest annual conference was repeatedly derailed Wednesday as anti-war protesters interrupted his panel, calling him a "war criminal" and a "coward" in protest of the Iran war.
At least five times in the first half hour of the panel, demonstrators — spread among the audience in a semi-coordinated effort — shouted at Hegseth before being forcibly removed by event security. At least one woman had to be carried out of the room by multiple officers while continuing to scream her protest.
The disruptions began as Hegseth sat down for a roundtable on the future of autonomous warfare at the Association of the United States Army's 2026 Annual Meeting and Exposition at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
"You're not a warrior, you're a coward!" one demonstrator shouted at Hegseth. Another held a "No War With Iran" banner while shouting about genocide. A third was pulled out to chants of "USA! USA!" from the crowd.
Hegseth initially responded with chuckles and sarcastic quips — "She thinks highly of me," he said after one outburst, drawing brief applause. But as the pattern continued, with protesters waiting a few minutes between outbursts to maximize the disruption, his reactions grew visibly shorter and more irritated.
"Appears we have a bit of a tactic," Hegseth acknowledged, calling the disruptions a "semi-coordinated" attack.
The panel was meant to focus on Project Agincourt, the Pentagon's initiative to accelerate development and deployment of autonomous weapons and military systems. Hegseth was joined by acting Army Secretary Adam Telle, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, and Assistant Secretary for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Derrick Evans.
As the disruptions continued, the speakers stopped pausing amid the din and tried to talk over the protesters. It remains unclear how the demonstrators obtained credentials for AUSA, the annual gathering that brings together Army brass and the defense contractors that serve them.
The confrontation comes as Hegseth heads to Capitol Hill to defend the administration's Iran war with a 60-day congressional deadline looming — making Wednesday's chaos an ominous preview of the political fight ahead.
Sources
Comments
Post a Comment