Greg Stoker: Anti-War Ranger Veteran Running for Congress in TX-31

Greg Stoker is a former U.S. Army Ranger, four-time Afghanistan combat veteran, and anti-war activist running as a Green Party candidate for Congress in Texas’s 31st Congressional District in 2026. He drew national attention in January 2025 when he was arrested for disrupting Pete Hegseth’s Senate confirmation hearing, and again in October 2025 when Israeli forces detained him aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza.¹²

From Ranger Regiment to Anti-War Activist

Born in Washington, D.C., Stoker was raised in South Austin and graduated from Westlake High School. He enlisted in Army special operations in 2009, trained at Fort Benning, and was assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment, deploying four times to Afghanistan.³

After leaving active duty, he studied anthropology and international relations at Columbia University.³ He went on to work as a political analyst and commentator, hosting a podcast called Colonial Outcasts and affiliating with Veterans for Peace, a national anti-war organization. His public commentary has centered on opposition to U.S. military interventions abroad.⁴

Arrest at the Hegseth Confirmation Hearing

On January 14, 2025, Stoker disrupted the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense. Wearing a military-issued jacket with his surname stitched on it, he stood and shouted about what he described as decades of illegal war and U.S. support for Israel’s actions in Gaza.¹ Capitol Police removed him from the room and arrested him. The specific criminal charges were not publicly reported at the time.⁵

During his questioning of Hegseth, Republican Senator Tom Cotton referred to the protesters as “liberal critics.”⁵

Detention During the Gaza Flotilla

In October 2025, Stoker joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, a multinational effort to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid. The flotilla consisted of more than 40 vessels carrying roughly 500 activists from 37 countries, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.⁶ Israeli naval forces intercepted the vessels in international waters and arrested all crew members aboard.⁷

Stoker was among approximately 170 activists held at Ktzi’ot Prison in Israel’s Negev desert.² Detainees and advocacy groups alleged a lack of clean water, insufficient food, denial of medical care, and physical mistreatment. The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, stating that detainees’ rights were “fully upheld.”⁷

Stoker was detained for roughly five days before being released with the help of his family and the office of U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett.⁸ He returned to Austin on October 7, 2025, traveling home by way of Bratislava.² He later told reporters the flotilla’s organizers had “won the comms war” by maintaining a constant social media presence that made a harsher crackdown “politically untenable” for the Israeli government.

The 2026 Congressional Campaign

Stoker filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on December 4, 2025, under the name Gregory James Stoker.⁹ He announced publicly on January 16, 2026, with a video filmed near a potential data center site outside Round Rock.⁴

He is seeking the Green Party of Texas nomination and describes his campaign as “non-partisan” and outside the “two-party duopoly.” His slogan is “Communities over corporations.”⁴ His platform includes:

An anti-war foreign policy rooted in his combat experience, with specific opposition to U.S. support for Israel.
A refusal of all PAC money, including from military contractors, corporate PACs, and lobbyists.¹⁰
Opposition to data center development in Central Texas, which he describes as exploitative of local communities and natural resources, along with a characterization of the AI industry as a speculative “bubble.”⁴

He has been endorsed by Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption, which supports candidates opposing the pro-Israel lobbying group’s influence.¹¹ Veterans for Peace, the anti-war group he was arrested alongside at the Hegseth hearing, has also been associated with his candidacy.⁴ Stoker has emphasized that he did not hire Washington political consultants.

Through March 2026, his campaign had raised $48,041.74, entirely from individual contributions, with more than half ($25,286.74) coming from small, unitemized donations under $200. The campaign had spent $33,965.18 and carried no debt.⁹

The District and the Odds

Texas’s 31st Congressional District covers roughly 5,600 square miles of Central Texas, anchored by the fast-growing suburbs north of Austin: Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, and Leander, along with Temple farther north. Its population is about 900,000, and 9.5% are veterans, more than 63,000 people and roughly one-and-a-half times the national average.¹²

Republican John Carter has held the seat since 2003 and has never faced a serious general-election challenge in the deeply Republican district.¹³¹⁴¹⁵ Election forecasters rate the race “Solid R.”¹⁶ Early voting runs October 19–30, 2026, with Election Day on November 3, 2026.¹⁰

1
The Guardian. US Veterans Protest Over Gaza
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KUT. Austin’s Greg Stoker Released From Israeli Prison
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Stoker for Texas. About Greg Stoker
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Green Party. Veteran Anti-War Activist Greg Stoker Running for Congress in Texas
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Democracy Now! Meet the Military Vets Arrested for Disrupting Pete Hegseth’s Senate Confirmation Hearing
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Al Jazeera. Israel Intercepts Gaza Sumud Flotilla Vessels
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The Guardian. Gaza Flotilla Passengers Allege Poor Conditions in Detention
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Texas Standard. Austin Activist Greg Stoker Is Back Home After Being Detained in an Israeli Prison
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Federal Election Commission. Gregory James Stoker – Candidate Overview
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Stoker for Texas. Greg Stoker for Congress
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Track AIPAC. Endorsements
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Census Reporter. Congressional District 31, TX
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Congress.gov. John R. Carter – Member Profile
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Federal Election Commission. Texas District 31 House Election
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The Texan. Congressman John Carter Secures Nomination for Re-Election in Crowded GOP Primary
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QuiverQuant. TX-31 House Race