The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was heckled during a visit to a US military installation in Germany as military families protested against the Trump administration’s rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
About two dozen adults who live at the military base chanted “DEI” and booed at Hegseth as he arrived to the US European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, NBC News reported.
Separately, a group of students attending the Patch middle school, also in Stuttgart, held a walkout, according to a letter from the school obtained by the Washington Post.
About 55 students at Patch “walked out in protest of recent events”, the letter read, demonstrating for 50 minutes before returning to class.
Protests led by military families are generally uncommon. A spokesperson at the Department of Defense did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment about the protests.
The actions were in response to a spate of anti-DEI initiatives Hegseth implemented. Since his confirmation last month, Hegseth has banned Black History Month celebrations and similar events. He has also restricted access to several books in defense department schools that children of US military families attended.
Hegseth has also announced in a memo that the US military will no longer accept transgender service members and ordered a pause on gender-affirming medical care.
“Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused,” wrote Hegseth.
“All unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused.”
The school walkout was organized by an eighth-grade student at Patch, the Washington Post reported. The student told the Post that she and others decided to demonstrate while Hegseth visited as Trump’s executive orders have targeted diverse events at the school, including a school performance to celebrate Black History Month.
Students were also concerned about how Trump’s executive orders would affect the LGBTQ+ community, the student said.
“There was this great sense of community and belonging,” the student, who spoke anonymously due to concerns about potential backlash from Trump supporters, told the Post. “Like we’re not alone, because so many kids came out.”
