Why Sen. Tim Sheehy intervenes as police remove protester from Capitol Hill hearing
'Protests are not allowed inside the congressional buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed' said US Capitol Police
March 05, 2026
During a Capitol Hill hearing, GOP senator Tim Sheehy is spotted helping police remove a protester on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
As soon as the video featuring Sen. Tim Sheehy dragging a protester out of a Capitol Hill hearing surfaced on social media it went viral in no time.
The protester is heard raising his voice against the U.S.-Israel military campaign in Iran that resulted in the killing of their supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
The protester, who later identified himself as Brian McGinnis, a Marine veteran seeking the Green Party nomination in North Carolina’s Senate race told reporters that his arm was fractured during the scuffle with police and Senator Sheehy.
What led to the brawl?
The U.S. Capitol Police has accused him of an act of “violently” assaulting officers.
The Capitol Police issued a statement, stating, “Protests are not allowed inside the congressional buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol Grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed.”
The Capitol Police while alleging that McGinnis “put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officers’ attempts to remove him from the room.”
Responding to McGinnis’s allegation that the cops had damaged his arm, the statement added, “McGinnis got his own arm stuck in a door to resist our officers and force him way back into the hearing room.”
While on the other hand, Sen. Tim Sheehy took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared a post detailing the incident, writing he got involved because McGinnis was “fighting back” against police, and he sought to “help out and deescalate the situation.”
Sen. Sheehy 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.”
The Capitol Police added that McGinnis faces three counts of assaulting a police officer, three counts of resisting arrest, and one count of crowding, obstructing, and incommoding.
