Brian McGinnis

McGinnis was born around 1982.^[1] He grew up in Quincy, Illinois, the son of Dr. Alex McGinnis and Mary Lou McGinnis.^[2] He has two brothers and a sister.^[3] His father was a Vietnam Veteran. He was class president at Quincy Senior High School and went to boot camp two days after graduating in 2000.^[4] After serving in the military, he earned an Associate degree at John Wood Community College in 2006.^[5]

McGinnis worked as a youth counselor and membership coordinator at the YMCA in Quincy, Illinois.^[2] He is a senior firefighter in the City of Raleigh fire department.^[6]

Military

McGinnis served as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004.^[2] In 2002, he was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.^[3] He was on the All-Marine boxing team and deployed to Iraq as a Light Armored Vehicle Crewman in 2003.^[1] He was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom from February 2003 to June 2003.^[2] He was honorably discharged in 2004.^[5]

Politics

In 2024, he joined the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, attempting to bring aid to Palestine by boat during the Gaza war.^[7] He is the Green Party candidate for the 2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina.^[8][1]

On March 4, 2026, McGinnis, dressed in his Marine Corps uniform, interrupted a Senate Armed Service Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support^[9] hearing on the war in Iran in the Hart Senate Office Building,^[10] shouting "America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel! [...] no one wants to fight for Israel!"^[11][12] McGinnis was forcibly removed by United States Capitol Police assisted by US senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and McGinnis's arm was broken during the altercation when it got stuck in a door.^[13][14][15] An audible snap can be heard in a video of the incident.^[16]

McGinnis was arrested and charged with three counts of resisting arrest and unlawful demonstration, three counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of "crowding, obstructing and incommoding" for blocking the door.^[6][17]

Reaction and aftermath

The video of McGinnis's interruption and subsequent removal went viral on social media.^[18][1]

In a social media statement, Sheehy described McGinnis as an "unhinged protestor".^[12] Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) thanked Sheehy on social media, calling McGinnis an "unhinged protestor who injured three officers while violently resisting arrest."^[19] A GoFundMe page started for McGinnis subsequently raised over $60,000.^[20]

Raleigh Fire Chief Herbert Griffin announced that McGinnis was placed on paid administrative leave from the Raleigh Fire Department as a result of the incident.^[21]

On March 6, 2026, statement, McGinnis wrote that the incident made him 'only more determined' to continue his run for Senate.^[22][23]

McGinnis married Megan McDonald at Los Angeles Athletic Club in January 2005.^[2] As of 2026, McGinnis is married to Hamadee Ali, a Palestinian woman, with whom he has four children. They live in Wendell, North Carolina.^[1][7] In 2022, he competed in the Veteran's World Championship of United World Wrestling.^[24]