A Republican senator was involved in an extraordinary tussle with a peace protester that ended when a sound like a bone snapping echoed through the Senate hearing room.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, a former Navy Seal, became involved in a struggle with a fellow Iraq War veteran as Capitol Police tried to physically remove the protester.
The bizarre incident occurred during a hearing of the Armed Services Subcommittee on the Current Readiness of the Joint Force, which was taking testimony from top generals.
Brian McGinnis, 44—a Marine Corps veteran, professional firefighter, and Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina—had arrived at the Hart Senate Office Building in his military uniform and with a point to make about Donald Trump’s decision to commit U.S. forces to the attack on Iran.
About half an hour in, he made it. Rising from his seat in the gallery, McGinnis shouted, “America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel!” and Capitol Police moved to remove him.
That was when Sheehy decided to enter the fray.
Sheehy, 40, of Montana—a former Navy SEAL lieutenant elected to the Senate last year with Donald Trump’s backing—left the dais and joined the officers in hauling McGinnis toward the exit.
Video of the incident, filmed by an antiwar activist and shared widely online, shows McGinnis hooking his left arm around the door frame as police tried to push him through.
After Sheehy, whose military career included tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, began to try to pull McGinnis out of the door. A snap could then clearly be heard, before an onlooker accused the senator of breaking McGinnis’s hand.
When asked whether his hand was OK, McGinnis replied: “No, it’s not.”
McGinnis was arrested and transported to George Washington University Hospital, according to his campaign manager Mark Elbourno. As the veteran was escorted from the building, he could be heard telling people nearby that his left arm was broken.
Capitol Police acknowledged that McGinnis had sustained an injury but insisted in a statement that he had forced his own arm into the gap between the door and the frame in order to obstruct his removal—“to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, it said McGinnis had “put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting,” adding: “Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed.”
Three police officers were also treated by DC Fire and EMS. McGinnis now faces seven charges in total—three for allegedly assaulting officers, three for resisting arrest, and a further count of unlawfully blocking a Capitol passageway.
Elbourno rejected the assault claim entirely. “He wasn’t assaulting anybody,” he told reporters. “He just wanted to be heard [and was] speaking loud and clear. He was assaulted, actually. They broke his arm.”
Sheehy posted on X that he had waded in because McGinnis had been “fighting back” against officers, and he wanted to “help out and deescalate the situation.”
He added, “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.”
But his “de-escalation” framing attracted pushback. X’s community notes feature—which allows readers to add factual context to posts they consider misleading—flagged his claim.
It noted that footage showed Sheehy had grabbed McGinnis by the leg before the arm broke. It also pointed out that the veteran had not come to Capitol Hill looking for a confrontation—he had come to protest.
As befitting a former Marine, McGinnis appeared to take the episode in his stride. Before entering the hearing, he had filmed a video explaining his intentions. “Anybody who feels disillusioned and betrayed by our government, you’re not alone,” he said. “Join us in demanding accountability for this betrayal. Free Palestine, Free America.”
Afterward, with a broken arm and seven criminal charges to contend with, he launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund his North Carolina Senate bid.
The Daily Beast has contacted Sen. Sheehy’s office and Brian McGinnis for comment.
