In a dramatic moment, Axios reporter Stef Kight ushered Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., off stage on Wednesday after protests crashed his interview with her.
Two protesters rushed toward the stage at the Axios News Shapers forum in D.C. One carried a banner and the other held a Palestine flag. Their aggressive acts may have suggested that they would start a physical altercation.
“Josh Hawley does not possibly care about people and the planet in this country because he is supporting the forced starvation of 2.2 million people,” the first protester screamed.
“Your career is built on the suffering of children,” another protester yelled.
The activists held up signs reading, “STOP STARVING GAZA,” and “U.S. FUNDS GENOCIDE,” The Hill reported.
The activist group Code Pink took credit for organizing the disruption of the Axios event and is notorious for interrupting congressional proceedings.
For his part, Hawley remained stoic in his seat until Kight decided she would temporarily escort him off stage.
“Are you sure?” Hawley mused to Kight. The Missouri legislator was greeted with applause on his return to the stage, remarking that it was “just another day in the Senate.”
In reply to a video of the disruption the senator posted, “Hahahah – pro-Hamas CRAZIES tried to disrupt another event this morning. What a bunch of nutcases. I’m proud as ever to stand for America and our ally Israel.”
This week’s disruption did not mark the first time Hawley has faced the brunt of political activism. In February 2021 the senator’s wife filed a criminal complaint against a protester for allegedly trespassing on the Hawley family home in Virginia during a protest against the senator the month before. That individual ultimately entered into an arrangement where he had the charges dismissed after agreeing to not come into contact with Erin Hawley or visit the Hawley family home before August 16, 2021.
Hawley is not the first government official to be targeted in recent months. In June, protests spread across the United States targeting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Anti-ICE activists vandalized a federal building in Texas, and agitators launched commercial-grade fireworks at law enforcement, and threw rocks at ICE vehicles in Los Angeles.
Despite the agitation, Trump and his allies in Congress have racked up key legislative wins on defense spending, securing the border, and unleashing American energy.
Hawley has ardently supported Christians persecuted in the Middle East and around the globe, authoring a resolution just this month urging President Donald Trump to prioritize defending Christians in his diplomacy.
According to Kight, the disruptions of Hawley’s interview marked the first protest of the day.
“Surprise, surprise: Pro-Hamas protesters kicking & screaming AGAIN! They should know by now that their disruptions won’t sway our support for Israel,” Bernadette Breslin, the Deputy Communications Director and Press Secretary for Hawley posted on X.
