Former CIA analyst and anti-war activist Ray McGovern was forcibly removed from the US Senate hearing where Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump's nominee for CIA director, was answering questions about her record on torture.

McGovern was dragged from the room by Capitol Police after demanding that Haspel answer questions put to her about the waterboarding of terror suspects at a CIA "black site" in Thailand.

As McGovern struggled, police repeatedly shouted at him to "stop resisting!" Due to the commotion in the room, it was unclear exactly what McGovern said to Haspel.

Before the McGovern incident, Haspel was interrupted by another lone protester. A woman, wearing a red t-shirt and shouting "Bloody Gina!" and "you are a torturer!" was also removed by police.

"Bloody Gina" was the nickname given to Haspel by her CIA colleagues, according to whistleblower John Kiriakou, who also claimed that Haspel personally tortured people because she "enjoyed it".