US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been heckled and interrupted multiple times by anti-war protesters during a panel discussion on autonomous warfare in Washington DC, as demonstrators denounced US military actions and called for an end to the war with Iran.
"You're not a warrior you're a coward. Children in Gaza are starving. He is a war criminal," a protester shouted at Hegseth during the US Army's biggest annual conference on Wednesday, while another displayed a sign reading "No war on Iran."
The Association of the US Army's annual meeting and exposition saw Hegseth appearing to brush off the interruptions before continuing his remarks, referring to one demonstrator by saying: "She thinks highly of me."
Fox News reported that protesters heckled Hegseth at least five times during the first half-hour of a panel discussion, with one demonstrator calling him a "f***ing Nazi".
Hegseth dubbed the heckling as "semi-coordinated attacks", adding, "The protesters are spouting off slogans, Iran really will never have a nuclear weapon."
The demonstrators were forcibly removed from the event.
First Amendment right to protest
"The First Amendment right to protest is fundamental. However, everyone who registers to attend the Annual Meeting and enters the convention centre does so after agreeing to abide by a code of conduct, so the protestors' outbursts were certainly not appropriate during today's forum," the US Army association told Fox News.
Speaking at the event, Hegseth defended the military strategy of the Trump administration, saying that the US must ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, one of the chief rationales given for the ongoing war.
He also reiterated his call for a $1.5 trillion investment in defence, arguing that Washington must rebuild its military to counter what he described as an unprecedented military buildup by China, without mentioning the country's name.
"We've got a near-peer adversary who's building a military, the most historic military buildup, potentially in world history," Hegseth said, citing advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, space capabilities, and autonomous warfare.
