War Secretary Pete Hegseth was repeatedly heckled by anti-war protesters during a panel at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., on October 14. At least five protesters interrupted Hegseth, calling him a “war criminal,” a “coward” and a “f*cking Nazi.”
Anti-war protesters interrupt Pete Hegseth repeatedly during the Army conference panel
The panel brought together senior military officials to discuss the Pentagon’s plans for autonomous warfare. The discussion spanned the development and deployment of drones, robotics, and other autonomous military systems. It centered on Project Agincourt, an initiative aiming to accelerate the development and deployment of these technologies.
According to Fox News, protesters interrupted Hegseth at five different times during the first half hour. The protestors were distributed throughout the room. They shouted anti-war slogans while criticizing Hegseth about his role and calling him a “f—ing Nazi” and hurling other insults.
Hegseth initially responded with chuckles and sarcastic remarks. He said, “She thinks highly of me” after one protester accused him, saying, “You’re not a warrior you’re a coward!” “Children in Gaza are starving! He is a war criminal!”
After interruptions continued, Hegseth suggested that it was a coordinated tactic from the protesters. “Appears we have a bit of a tactic,” he said, according to Fox News. He also remarked that the protesters were “spouting off slogans.”
Event security and the Metropolitan Police removed protesters from the site. One woman was reportedly carried out by multiple officers as he kept shouting.
The Association of the U.S. Army addressed the disruptions in a statement to Fox News Digital. While upholding the right to protest, they insisted that the attendees had agreed to follow the event’s code of conduct.
“The First Amendment right to protest is fundamental. However, everyone who registers to attend the Annual Meeting and enters the convention center does so after agreeing to abide by a code of conduct, so the protestors’ outbursts were certainly not appropriate during today’s forum,” the organization said.
