Kristi Noem had barely started her opening statement when the shouting began. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, quickly turned into a loud, physical removal of two protesters. It was the Secretary of Homeland Security’s first appearance before the panel since fatal immigration raids in Minneapolis sparked national protests.
“Abolish ICE!”
“Kristi Noem, you should be ashamed of yourself!”
The woman yelling said that she was a former FEMA employee. She said the agency had been disgraced. She said that FEMA staff should be responding to hurricanes and floods, not assisting immigration agents.
Kristi Noem was protested at her hearing:
“No one is illegal on stolen land.” pic.twitter.com/v024pn7MH4
— ᗰᗩƳᖇᗩ (@LePapillonBlu2) March 3, 2026
Capitol Police moved in quickly, per International Business Times. Video shows her stumbling as officers escorted her out.
A second protester stood minutes later. Shouted about “Americans killed by ICE.” That person was also removed.
The room settled. Barely.
The Senate Judiciary Committee session was meant to focus on DHS oversight, funding gaps and border enforcement. Instead, the first images that were shared online were of the removals. And Clips spread fast on X.
One post read, “You should be ashamed! Dragged out for telling the truth.” Another said, “Disrupting a Senate hearing isn’t activism. It’s chaos.” “Abolish ICE trending again,” a third person stated.
Noem continued after the interruptions. She seemed to be unperturbed by the outburst. Her calm voice remained. No pause in posture.
“This is what happens when people can’t handle the truth about the border,” she said later. “We will not be intimidated.”
The backdrop is heavier than a few shouted words.
In January, two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot during federal immigration operations in Minneapolis. DHS has said agents faced threats and that investigations are ongoing. The deaths triggered days of demonstrations. Some protesters wore riot gear. Federal buildings increased security.
ICE was created in 2003 after the September 11 attacks. It operates under DHS. The department employs about 260,000 people across agencies. Secret Service, TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard all form part of the whole. It is one of the largest federal departments in government.
Funding is unresolved. Congress has been im a deadlock about the complete allocations for DHS. Temporary measures keep paychecks moving. The longer-term bill is still in play.
Inside the chamber, questioning moved quickly.
I’m in the Judiciary Committee hearing room where DHS Secretary Noem is testifying. A protestor has already been escorted out within minutes of her opening statement: pic.twitter.com/fCWPDKFXli
— Caitlin Huey-Burns (@CHueyBurns) March 3, 2026
Dick Durbin pressed Noem on use-of-force policies and transparency tied to the Minneapolis shootings. He accused the department of fostering what he called a “hateful America” and suggested agents appeared to act above the law.
Social media replayed the removals on loop. Some users focused on the stumble as the first protester was led away. Others zoomed in on Noem’s expression — steady, unsmiling.
No arrests were reported by late afternoon.
The hearing ran on for hours after the outbursts. Questions on border crossings, deportation numbers, and department spending filled the rest of the session. The gavel fell in the evening.
Chuck Grassley, chairing the hearing, said one death is too many. He added there is a line between protected protest and obstruction. He said officers enforcing federal law should not face harm.
The interruptions were not the first.
In December, during a House Homeland Security Committee session, protesters cut into Noem’s remarks with a line from the 1973 film The Exorcist: “The power of Christ compels you.” Capitol Police escorted them out then, too.
