Independent journalist Sam Husseini was forcibly removed by armed guards during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final press briefing after attempting to ask questions about the Gaza ceasefire. Blinken had just claimed that the past four years had seen successful diplomacy, including the truce, despite Israel and Hamas both crediting President-elect Donald Trump for the deal, reports RT.
In a video shared by Ryan Grim of DropSite News, multiple uniformed Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) officers can be seen approaching Husseini as he remained seated in the briefing room. As the guards seized him, Husseini shouted, “Get your hands off me!” and demanded that Blinken answer his question. “Answer my damn question,” he continued, adding, “You pontificate about a free press!” Husseini also mentioned that he had been previously told by State Department spokesman Matt Miller that his questions would not be addressed.
Blinken responded that journalists had to “respect the process” and that questions would be answered after his speech. Husseini, undeterred, yelled back, “Everybody from Amnesty International to the ICJ [International Court of Justice] is saying that Israel is doing genocide and extermination and you’re telling me to respect the process?” He also repeatedly shouted, “Criminal! Why are you not in The Hague?” as DSS officers carried him out of the room.
In a follow-up post on X (formerly Twitter), Husseini explained, “I tried to ask a series of questions. Was carried out and handcuffed. Completely excessive force.” He later expressed that he had been “seriously manhandled” for attempting to ask serious questions that the State Department did not want to address. Some of the questions Husseini had prepared included whether the US was aware of the “Hannibal Directive,” a controversial Israeli military doctrine allowing for the killing of service members or civilians rather than allowing them to be taken captive.
According to Grim’s post, a State Department staffer had tried to remove Husseini from the room after he asked about the directive and then called for armed security when he refused to leave. Husseini also wanted to ask Blinken about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, Israeli nuclear weapons, and whether the Geneva Conventions applied to Gaza.
Another altercation during the same briefing saw Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal accusing Blinken of using his position to “destroy our religion, Judaism, by associating it with fascism.” Blumenthal also raised concerns about Blinken’s family ties to pro-Israel lobbying. As Blumenthal was escorted out, he shouted, “Why did you sacrifice the rules-based order on the mantle of your commitment to Zionism?” and “Why did you allow the Holocaust of our time to happen? How does it feel to have your legacy be genocide?”
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
