Code Pink activist berates Obama at national security speech

"Will you apologize to the thousands of Muslims that you have killed?"

Published May 23, 2013 7:21PM (EDT)

President Obama's counterterrorism speech was interrupted by a heckler, identified by reporters at the speech as Code Pink's Medea Benjamin, who expressed her outrage about the Administration's use of drones and the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

“I’m willing to cut the young lady who interrupted me so slack, because it’s worth being passionate about,” Obama said. He added: “I obviously don’t agree with much of what she said."

"Will you tell the Muslim people their lives are as precious as our lives?" she yelled, as she was being escorted out. "Can you take the drones out of the hands of the CIA? Can you stop the signature strikes that are killing people on the basis of suspicious activities? Will you apologize to the thousands of Muslims that you have killed?"

"That will make us safer," she added.

Here's the video, via TPM.

Huffington Post reporter Ryan J. Reilly also uploaded this video of Benjamin continuing to speak, as she was escorted from the room:


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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Barack Obama Code Pink Counterterrorism Guantanamo Bay Video