Anti-War Protesters Interrupt Hegseth Repeatedly at Army Conference in Washington

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was interrupted repeatedly today, Oct. 14, by anti-war protesters during a panel at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington.

At least five protesters shouted at him in the first half hour, according to Fox News. The New Republic counted at least six removed from the room. Security escorted them out one at a time, and at least one woman had to be carried out by multiple officers while she kept shouting.

Hecklers spaced through the room

The protesters were spread among the audience and waited a few minutes between outbursts. One called Hegseth a "coward" and a "war criminal." Another shouted, "Children in Gaza are starving!" One woman carried a sign reading "No war on Iran." Others accused the military leadership of profiting from bombs that killed members of the protester's family.

Hegseth started out joking. After the first outburst he said, "She thinks highly of me." The line drew laughter and applause.

By the third or fourth interruption he had spotted the pattern. "Appears we have a bit of a tactic," he said. Others on the panel described it as a "semi-coordinated effort." At one point the crowd chanted "USA, USA" to drown out a protester.

Hegseth also told the room he felt comfortable on stage, saying the setup was like a television set. The former Fox News host added that he felt "outnumbered" by the audience.

What the protesters and the Pentagon said

The demonstrators were protesting the U.S. war with Iran. One shouted, "We spend $1.5 trillion on war," and tied that spending to Gaza. Another said, "You're killing my family."

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson called them "performative, left-wing activists" and said Hegseth was not deterred.

The Association of the U.S. Army said in a statement that "the First Amendment right to protest is fundamental," but that registered attendees must follow the conference code of conduct. It said the interruptions broke those rules. It thanked event security and the Metropolitan Police for letting the discussion continue.

The protesters' right to speak is not in question. Whether they can disrupt a conference whose attendees agreed to a code of conduct is a separate matter, and the organizer says they violated it.

Iran, China and the $1.5 trillion ask

Hegseth did not change his message. He said the U.S. must ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. That is one of the main rationales the administration has given for the war, which is still ongoing.

He repeated his call for a $1.5 trillion defense investment. He said the U.S. needs to rebuild its military to counter "a near-peer adversary who's building a military, the most historic military buildup, potentially in world history." He did not name China, but cited advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, space capabilities and autonomous warfare.

The cost of the war is an open political question. CNN has put it at about $45 billion so far, roughly $2,000 per household.

Project Agincourt and the new command

The panel itself was about autonomous warfare and the Pentagon's plan to use more unmanned systems. Hegseth used it to defend Project Agincourt, which he has described as an effort to speed up the development and purchase of drones, robots and other autonomous systems. He announced it Sept. 30, together with plans for an Autonomous Warfare Command. The command would be a four-star organization meant to coordinate autonomous systems across the services.

The Pentagon wants it operating by Oct. 1, 2027. Establishing it will require congressional action.

Today was not the first time Hegseth has been shouted down. His opening remarks at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in July were interrupted several times by protesters in the Capitol gallery.

The next test is Congress, which must act before the command can be established, and which will weigh the $1.5 trillion Hegseth wants.