Protesters briefly interrupted the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, during a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday, evoking a quote from the film The Exorcist.
As Noem delivered her opening remarks before the House committee on homeland security, two protesters disrupted the session, with one yelling: “Stop ICE raids! The power of Christ compels you! End deportations, the power of Christ compels you!”
“The power of Christ compels you!” is famously a line used in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist by a priest performing an exorcism.
While Noem smiled silently in response to the demonstration, Capitol police quickly escorted the protester out as he held sign that read “Stop ICE raids” and “Codepink,” likely referencing the anti-war group.
Moments later, another protester stood up, displaying a poster that said “No ICE, no troops!” The individual went on to shout: “Get ICE off our streets! Stop terrorizing our communities!”
Thursday’s incident comes as Noem faces growing calls for resignation from House Democrats over her handling of Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdowns.
Addressing Noem directly, Mississippi representative Bennie Thompson, the committee’s top Democrat, said at the hearing: “Rather than sitting here and wasting your time and ours more with more corruption, lies and lawlessness, I call on you to resign. Do a real service to the country and just resign, that is if President Trump doesn’t fire you first.”
Noem remained defensive, saying that the Trump administration works “each and every day to make America safe again” and that she was very “privileged and honored to have my family with me” at the hearing.
The hearing also comes amid rising tensions between federal agents and the public over immigration tactics in major American cities. These tactics have involved the use of military-grade hardware against civilians, including flash-bang grenades and armored personnel carriers, as well as using smartwatches to track pregnant immigrants, even during labor.
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed a new contract to purchase six Boeing 737s for deportations, marking the latest move in a series of steps taken by the government to fulfill Trump’s pledge of executing the “largest deportation operation in American history.”
