Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was escorted off a stage Wednesday in Washington, D.C., after pro-Palestinian demonstrators interrupted an event he was participating in.

The disruption, which took place at the Axios News Shapers forum, was first reported by The Hill. Newsweek later posted a video of the incident.

“Josh Hawley cannot possibly care about people in this country because he is supporting a war of starvation,” one protester interjected in the middle of a sit-down interview between the Republican lawmaker and reporter Stef Kight.

As Kight attempted to regain control of the room, a cacophony of voices swelled in protest. It’s unclear how many demonstrators were in attendance because the camera was trained on the stage.

“Am I the first one to, uh,” Hawley began.

“First protest today,” Kight cut in.

She then stood up and beckoned to Hawley. “All right, let’s leave the stage,” she said.

“Are you sure?” Hawley asked.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can go,” Kight said before turning her attention to the demonstrators. “We appreciate that people feel passionately about these issues,” she said before again asking for quiet.

When protesters continued speaking in raised voices, Kight turned back to Hawley, who had remained seated. “Let’s go,” she said, and they walked off stage.

According to Code Pink, an anti-war and social justice movement that took to the internet to claim credit for the disruption, activists in the room held up signs that read “STOP STARVING GAZA” and “U.S. FUNDS GENOCIDE.”

“Today, peace activists with Code Pink disrupted Senator Josh Hawley during an open Axios News Shapers forum, demanding an end to U.S. complicity in Israel’s starvation and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” its statement said.

Hawley and Kight later returned to the stage, according to The Hill. The report does not say how long the two remained offstage, but it describes their absence as “brief.”

Upon returning, The Hill reported that Hawley was met with a round of applause and dismissed the protest as “just another day in the Senate.”

Hawley’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

A United Nations commission has accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, and the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the Watson School of International and Public Affairs, in the year after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. spent at least $22.76 billion in support of Israeli military operations. Congress has approved additional multi-billion-dollar aid payments since then.

Hawley has positioned himself as a vocal supporter of Israel and has previously condemned pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses as antisemitic.

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