Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy defends confronting 'unhinged' protester, a Marine veteran, during Senate hearing

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., defended his actions during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday after he stepped in to assist Capitol Police officers as they were forcefully removing what he described as "an unhinged protestor" who is a Marine veteran from the room.

The incident, which was captured on video by several people in the room, took place around 3 p.m. when the protester, identified by Capitol Police as Brian C. McGinnis, 44, of North Carolina, began shouting, police said.

Officers attempted to remove McGinnis, who was dressed in a military uniform, from of the room but he allegedly resisted when Sheehy approached, according to Capitol Police. The senator was seen in the video hoisting the protester by his legs as other officers attempted to remove McGinnis from the room.

"No one wants to fight for Israel," McGinnis is heard shouting in the videos.

At one point during the scuffle, McGinnis was lifted from the ground as the officers and senator were trying to physically remove him, and his left hand was apparently pinched in the gap between the hinge side of the door and the adjacent molding.

Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, is seen in the videos trying to remove McGinnis' hand from the gap and speaking to him for a few moments before the protester was pulled free from the doorway and escorted away.

As McGinnis continued to cling to the door, other protestors in the room are shouting "a senator broke his hand" and "a U.S. senator just broke the hand of a Marine." The extent of McGinnis' injuries was unclear.

The senator defended his actions in a post on X Wednesday afternoon, in which he also shared video of the incident.

"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 said in his post.

"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," Sheehy added.

McGinnis is running for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina under the Green Party ticket. According to his campaign website, he served with the Marines in the early 2000s and was deployed to Iraq in 2003.

His campaign released a statement on X Thursday expressing his family's gratitude for support following the viral incident.

"At this time, our priority is Brian’s wellbeing. We are taking a necessary step back from the public eye to allow him to focus fully on his recovery in private. While he looks forward to engaging with you all again very soon, his health and his family remain the current priorities," the campaign statement said.

"This afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officer’s attempts to remove him from the room," Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday, adding that three officers had to be treated for unspecified injuries stemming from the confrontation.

"The suspect, who got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force his way back into the hearing room, was also treated," the statement further said.

McGinnis was charged with "three counts of Assault on a Police Officer, as well as three counts of Resisting Arrest, and Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding for the unlawful demonstration," Capitol Police said in the statement.

"Protests are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed," Capitol Police further said in their statement.

Attorney information for McGinnis was not immediately available.