Sen. Tim Sheehy assisted Capitol Police officers Wednesday in subduing a protester who disrupted [1] a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing inside the U.S. Capitol complex, according to statements from the senator and law enforcement officials.
Video circulating online shows the confrontation unfolding as Capitol Police officers attempted to remove a man later identified as Green Party Senate candidate Brian McGinnis from the hearing room. McGinnis resisted officers as they tried to escort him out, leading to a physical struggle inside the Hart Senate Office Building.
Sheehy, a Republican senator from Montana and a former Navy SEAL, is seen in the video stepping in to assist officers during the confrontation.
The footage shows the senator entering the struggle and attempting to pull McGinnis away from the doorway as law enforcement worked to regain control of the situation.
According to authorities, McGinnis, 44, had refused to release his grip on the door while officers tried to remove him from the room. Capitol Police said the confrontation escalated as the man resisted multiple attempts by officers to escort him from the hearing.
At one point during the altercation, a loud snapping sound could be heard.
The sound appeared to come from McGinnis’ arm during the struggle, according to accounts of the incident inside the building.
The situation eventually came under control after officers and Sheehy succeeded in removing the protester from the area.
Sheehy later described the incident in a statement posted to 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,” Sheehy wrote on X.
The senator also addressed the motivations of the protester in the same statement.
“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.”
