‘You WILL Shoot Protestors!’ Senator Grills Hegseth on Whether He’d Refuse Trump ‘Order’ As Predecessor Claimed He Did

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) grilled defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth on whether he would comply with orders from the President-elect Donald Trump to “shoot protestors in the legs” if directed to do so – a question the nominee failed to answer.

In her questioning, Hirono referenced former Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s account in his 2022 memoir A Sacred Oath that during the protests surrounding the White House after George Floyd’s death when Trump allegedly asked: “Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?”

“The good news — this wasn’t a difficult decision,” Esper continued to write. “The bad news — I had to figure out a way to walk Trump back without creating the mess I was trying to avoid.”

During a contentious round of questioning during Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Hirono said: “In June of 2020, then-President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown D.C. An order secretary Esper refused to comply with.”

“Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?” she asked.

Hegseth began to respond: “Senator, I was in the Washington DC National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those events carrying a riot shield on behalf of my country…”

The senator interrupted to repeat her question: “Would you carry out an order to shoot protesters in the legs as directed to by the president?”

Hegseth continued his response: “I saw 50 secret service agents get injured by rioters, trying to jump over the fence, set the church on fire and destroy it.”

Fatigued, Hirono took Hegseth’s non-answer as meaning he would follow the order: “You know what? That sounds to me that you will comply with such an order. You will shoot protesters in the leg.”

Watch above via CNN.