April 10, 2024 (EIRNS)—Protesters against U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza beset the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Pentagon budget yesterday. The hearing had been interrupted earlier by protesters shouting, “The blood of the people of Palestine is on your hands!”
“Stop killing my people,” one demonstrator said, reported The Hill. “Stop funding Israel.” Several protesters began chanting to “stop the genocide in Gaza,” and at least one person said the U.S. should try to work on addressing issues like health care and climate change instead of sending money to Israel.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) connived with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to respond to the protesters by simply denying that there was any genocide in Gaza! Cotton started by asking Austin if the charges being made by the protesters were true. “Senator Cotton, I—we don’t have any evidence of genocide being created,” Austin replied, which pleased Cotton to no end, according to a transcript published by RealClearPolitics. “You stand accused by those protesters of greenlighting genocide. Would you like to respond to that accusation?”
