American students at a U.S. military base in Germany walked out of their middle school on Tuesday to protest an official visit by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, The Washington Post reports.
Dozens of students at Patch Middle School in Stuttgart, Germany peacefully walked out of class for nearly an hour, people with knowledge of the matter told The Post.
Alexis Small, the school’s assistant principal confirmed in a letter to parents that roughly 55 students “walked out in protest of recent events.”
“There was this great sense of community and belonging, like we’re not alone, because so many kids came out,” an eighth grade student who organized the walkout told the Post in a phone interview.
Also, parents dressed in civilian clothes protested Hegseth visit by booing and chanting “DEI!”
The protests were in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity efforts in the military and throughout the U.S. government.
After he was narrowly confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth moved to quickly implement Trump’s anti-diversity agenda at the Pentagon. In a memo last month, Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense will no longer celebrate or recognize ‘identity months’ including Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
During a Pentagon town hall last week, Hegseth said the phrase “diversity is our strength” is the “single dumbest phrase in military history.”
