Pro-Ceasefire Protesters Interrupt Blinken Hearing, Call Him ‘Murderer’

Several protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza were dragged out of a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee after repeatedly interrupting Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony. Testifying about the Biden administration’s $14.3 billion request to fund Israel’s war against Hamas, Blinken was shouted down by pro-Palestinian demonstrators multiple times during his opening statement. “Save the children of Gaza,” one man shouted, while others began yelling, “Ceasefire now!” Over a dozen protesters, some with the antiwar group Code Pink, also raised their red-paint-covered hands in mock surrender. At one point, a demonstrator screamed: “Blinken, you have blood on your hands! Murderer!” Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA), meanwhile, halted the proceedings numerous times to allow the Capitol police to escort the demonstrators from the hearing room. “I also hear very much the passions expressed in this room and outside this room,” Blinken said after the protesters were hauled out. “All of us are committed to the protection of civilian life. All of us know the suffering that is taking place as we speak. All of us are determined to see it end.”

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