FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2026
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Disrupts Hegseth Hearing, Calls out the “War Crimes Secretary” Over Iran Policy and School Massacre
WASHINGTON, D.C. – CODEPINK activists disrupted the House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to review President Donald Trump's Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, confronting Secretary of War (Crimes) Pete Hegseth over his role in facilitating war crimes, including the targeting of civilians, direct public incitement to commit genocide in Iran, and extrajudicial killings.
Leila, CODEPINK volunteer, rose during the hearing on the Iran War and the 2027 budget to challenge Hegseth face-to-face.
“I am an Iranian-American against this war of aggression. And if you accept... and if you approve this budget, you will be complicit in the war crimes of this administration,” Leila said before being removed from the room. “This administration is criminal. They are committing war crimes against humanity. They are destroying a civilization. 5,000 years of civilization. They promised to destroy it,” she continued
The protest is part of CODEPINK’s newly launched “Arrest Hegseth” campaign, which seeks to hold the secretary legally and publicly accountable for alleged war crimes—most notably the Minab school massacre of February 28, 2026, in which nearly 170 schoolchildren were killed. CODEPINK is also demanding that CNN use its access to Hegseth to ask the questions he has refused to answer for Congress. Questions the public demands answers to are:
- Why was the Minab girls' school targeted? What civilian harm was assessed, and how was it prevented?
- Did AI (e.g., Maven, Claude, OpenAI) aid in the targeting or in legal determinations in Operation Epic Fury? Was there a human review?
- How is the Department preventing civilian harm in Operation Epic Fury? Is it coordinating with Israeli forces on harm mitigation?
- Describe target selection and review for Operation Epic Fury. Are red-teaming or civilian harm teams used? How many personnel work on civilian harm mitigation?
- Why shouldn't you be arrested for war crimes?
This is the second time CODEPINK has disrupted Hegseth over his record. Leila and fellow CODEPINK volunteer Gus, who was documenting the action, were both taken into custody by Capitol Police.
For more information about the disruptions or the campaign, please contact Melissa at [email protected].
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