Protester Unexpectedly 'Glitter Bombs' European Central Bank President

— -- The European Central Bank's president was taken by surprise at a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, today when an activist seemingly came out of nowhere and "glitter bombed" him.

President Mario Draghi had just began explaining how smoothly the ECB's stimulus program was going when, suddenly, a Femen activist rushed down from the front row, leaped onto the table in front of Draghi and threw what looked like confetti and glitter at him.

"End the ECB dictatorship," the protester yelled.

A Twitter user under the name Josephine Witt claims to be the woman who carried out the surprise "glitter bomb" attack on the Italian economist.

Security guards dragged the activist off stage in seconds, while Draghi was taken to a side room.

The feminist protest group activist left the room smiling and even threw up a peace sign.

Draghi returned minutes later looking a little shaken but resumed his statement, answered questions for an hour, and earned a small round of applause at the end from the press corps.

The ECB said in a statement that the activist registered as a journalist for a news organization she didn't represent.

"Like all visitors to the ECB, she went through an identity check, metal detector and X-ray of her bag, before entering the building," the ECB added. "ECB President Mario Draghi remained unharmed and calmly proceeded with the press conference."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.