[Photo by Mostafa Bassim]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December, 11, 2024

Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected] | 228-990-4168

CODEPINK Disrupts Sec. Antony (the Butcher) Blinken During Congressional Hearing 

WASHINGTON – Peace activists with CODEPINK disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken's testimony today before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The protesters were there to call out secretary Blinken for his war crimes in Gaza. On May 10, Blinken falsely assured Congress that Israel was not restricting U.S. humanitarian aid. 

The peace activists took turns disrupting Blinken when he began to give testimony. Three were able to disrupt. They were immediately escorted out, but not before successfully delivering their messages.  

"BLINKEN: Like you, I'm a parent. I have young kids too. As a father, how can you justify sending bombs to destroy homes and tents, killing thousands of innocent children, babies, and their families?" Implored Daphne Lambert Kiplinger. 

"Blinken the butcher is damned in this life and any other. The blood of his victims will never surround him. Once the dust settles in Gaza and the world finds out the true extent of his crimes, the People will give him no rest," said Adnaan Stumo, CODEPINK D.C. organizer. 

Adnaan, along with a growing group of concerned citizens, spends nearly every day on Capitol Hill trying to educate elected officials on the horrors of the ongoing genocide and pleads with them to listen to the majority of the public who wants the U.S. to end its military and political support of Israel and its decades-long occupation of Palestine. 

By lying to Congress and the public, Blinken is giving Israel political cover. In doing so, he is breaking domestic and international law and directly contributed to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

When confronted with the U.S. Agency for International Development's assessment that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid — an act that should have immediately halted U.S. weapons shipments to Israel — Blinken and the Biden administration deliberately ignored the truth. This was after the State Department's own Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) also determined the U.S. had a legal obligation to halt arms transfers.

Blinken's lie ensured U.S. taxpayer money would continue to be sent to Israel, and thousands upon thousands died as a result. 

For more information about the disruption, including videos, please contact CODEPINK at [email protected]. 

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