Overview
- Multiple anti-war demonstrators repeatedly shouted at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a roundtable at the Association of the United States Army conference on Wednesday, forcing security to remove at least five people while the panel continued.
- Protesters used profane language and accused Hegseth of being a “war criminal,” a “Nazi,” and a “coward,” with some carrying a “No War With Iran” banner and shouting about family members killed by bombing campaigns.
- The session was focused on Project Agincourt, the Pentagon initiative to speed the deployment of drones, robotics and other autonomous military systems, which framed the protesters’ objections to the conference content.
- Reporters and organizers noted it is unclear how the demonstrators obtained AUSA credentials, a gap that exposes security and access vulnerabilities at a high-profile defense event and could prompt tighter credential checks.
- News outlets and live on-site reporters emphasized different details of the incident, with some focusing on Hegseth’s sarcastic reactions and others on the protestors’ anti‑war messages, while the episode follows earlier public confrontations involving Hegseth and comes as he prepares to defend policy to Congress.