FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2026
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK and Allies Disrupt Secretary of War Crimes Pete Hegseth U.S. Army’s Annual Expo
"How many children have to die for you to feel like a warrior?"
WASHINGTON - CODEPINK, along with members of the National Iranian American Council, Extinction Rebellion, and a Palestinian American, disrupted Secretary of War Crimes Pete Hegseth during the ‘Project Agincourt: Autonomous Warfare’ panel at the 2026 U.S. Army's Annual Conference and Expo.
One disrupter, Bita Iuliano, shouted: "My people in Iran were pulling their children's body parts out from underneath the rubble of an elementary school because of this kind of technology! You are a war criminal and a Nazi! This technology is tracking and killing Palestinians in an ongoing genocide!"
"Hegseth, you are not a man of faith. You are a coward, a war criminal, and a Nazi, and belong in The Hague, not on a stage. You don't care about Americans. You're sending Americans out to die in endless wars you keep manufacturing and using our tax dollars to murder innocent people all over the world. You cosplayed as a nazi for so long you became one, she continued. Bita is an Iranian American CODEPINK volunteer and local DC organizer.
Three other disrupters followed Bita, calling out Pete Hegseth's dangerous and deadly war in Iran as well as the fascists' demand for 1.5 trillion dollars to continue killing men, women, and children in the Middle East and murdering fishermen in the Caribbean.
How many children have to die for you to feel like a warrior? Stop bombing my family in Iran," shouted Bella, National Iranian American Council (NIAC) communications manager.
"The mothers of the world are crying out for justice for our murdered children," exclaimed Carol Spring with Extinction Rebellion DC!
"Pete Hegseth, you're a war criminal. Stop the $1.5 trillion war budget," demanded Sarah, a Palestinian American activist.
All disruptors were forcefully removed.
On February 28th, under Hegseth's command, the United States struck Iran without any provocation. One target was a grade school in Minab where over 150 schoolchildren and staff were killed. Hegseth has also carried out the murder of nearly 200 fishermen and boaters in the Caribbean under the guise that they are "narco terrorists," despite offering no proof of the claim, as well as carrying out extrajudicial killings in international waters.
Hegseth and the Trump administration have proposed the largest increase in war spending in modern history, potentially bringing the Pentagon budget to $1.5 trillion if Congress approves. Taxpayers are currently paying $116.43 million per hour for war, with the average taxpayer contributing over $4,000 last year for weapons and war. In comparison, the wealthy profited $40 billion from the war on Gaza.
Meanwhile, nearly 30% of Americans are financing grocery purchases, and nearly 45,000 die annually due to lack of health insurance and healthcare access; however, just 13.3% of the war budget could reinstate and fund healthcare subsidies for the next six years.
After the midterms, November 10-13, people from across the country will convene in DC for a Taxpayers' Uprising to stop the $1.5 trillion from being stolen from their hard-earned money to line the pockets of war criminals, weapons manufacturers, and tech billionaires who all have us on a collision course with disaster.
For more information, interviews with the disruptors, or additional footage, please contact Melissa at [email protected].
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