FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2026
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Disrupts Heritage Foundation Warmongers As U.S. Wages War on Iran
WASHINGTON – While the United States wages war on Iran, CODEPINK disrupted the Heritage Foundation event on the 2026 Index of U.S. Military Strength. The protesters called out Senator Jim Banks and the warmongering panel for their policies that boost military funding and directly support deadly interventions and war crimes abroad while ignoring the needs of constituents here at home.
The Heritage Foundation's 2026 Index highlighted what it perceives as a decline in U.S. military readiness due to underfunding and prolonged deployments. Yet the U.S. military budget and spending are now more than a trillion dollars a year; illegal U.S. military interventions are destabilizing regions across the world, from Latin America to the Middle East.
Bita, an Iranian-American, disrupted Sen. Banks, saying, “While my people are pulling children out from under the rubble, you stand up there talking about patriotism? You don't care about Americans. You don't care about your constituents. You care about that $500,000 in your pocket from AIPAC. Your constituents want healthcare and housing. They don't want to send their children to kill other children.”
CODEPINK DC organizer, Olivia DiNucci, disrupted the panel discussion: “It's not about peace. This is not about freedom. This is about your pockets, dripping in blood. The blood is on your hands. From Iran, Venezuela, the genocide of the Palestinian people, Cuba, the sanctions are economic warfare! You all do not care about, you do not care about freedom. You care about blood! It’s hundreds of thousands of people dying!”
As the conference proceeded this morning, the U.S. continues forward with a deadly and dangerous war on Iran, without any credible evidence that Iran was going to attack the U.S., and after abandoning promising diplomatic talks with Iran. The first day of attacks resulted in the murder of nearly 200 girls who were in attendance at school when a U.S./Israeli airstrike targeted them. Just 27% of people in the U.S. support this war.
The disrupters were banned from the Heritage Foundation for life, something they will never lose sleep over.
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