Antiwar protester heckles Kerry during confirmation hearing

A protester interrupted Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) on Thursday during his confirmation hearings.

The woman shouted that the United States was killing thousands of people in the Middle East who were not a threat. Security officers quickly escorted her out of the room.

"When I first came to Washington and testified, I obviously was testifying as part a group of people who came here to have their voices heard, and that is, above all, what this place is about," Kerry, who has been nominated as Secretary of State, replied.

Kerry testified before the Senate in 1971 on behalf of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He described his experiences in Vietnam and called for an immediate end to the war.

"So I respect, I think, the woman who was voicing her concerns about that part of the world, and maybe one of you have traveled there," he continued. "Some of you were there recently. Senator McCain, you were just there, you were in a refugee camp, and I know you heard this kind of thing. People measure what we do. And in a way that's a good exclamation point to my testimony."

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by the Associated Press, below: