Dozens of veterans and military family members were arrested Monday after staging an anti-war protest inside the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, underscoring growing domestic opposition to the escalating U.S. conflict with Iran.
U.S. Capitol Police detained at least 62 demonstrators who had gathered in the building’s rotunda, according to organizers. The protest was coordinated by a coalition of advocacy groups, including About Face, the Center on Conscience and War (CCW), Veterans For Peace, Common Defense, the Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, Military Families Speak Out, and 50501 Veterans.
Participants stood in formation holding red tulips — symbolizing Iranians killed in recent U.S. strikes — while displaying banners reading “End the War on Iran.” The demonstration also featured a flag-folding ceremony honoring the 13 U.S. service members who have died since the conflict began on Feb. 28. Videos shared on social media show protesters chanting anti-war slogans before being zip-tied and escorted out by police.
In a statement, CCW said demonstrators were attempting to secure a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), urging him to accept the folded flag and commit to ending congressional funding for the war.
Capitol Police did not immediately respond to requests for official confirmation of the total number of arrests.
Among those taken into custody was CCW Executive Director Mike Prysner, an Iraq War veteran who has become a prominent anti-war advocate. Ahead of the protest, Prysner sharply criticized the current conflict, calling it “already deeply unpopular” and “a crisis for the Trump administration.”
“The war I was sent to senselessly claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and a million Iraqis,” Prysner said in a statement ahead of his arrest. “Like the other veterans here with me today, I have spent the last two decades wishing I could turn back the hands of time and refuse to go. Service members have that chance right now.”
He also emphasized that conscientious objection remains a legal option for U.S. troops. “Conscientious objection is service members’ legal right, and we have professional counselors who will fight to ensure you are approved and kept from deployment,” Prysner said.
The protest comes at a pivotal moment in the conflict. A temporary two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran is set to expire Wednesday. President Donald Trump has rejected calls to extend the truce, instead pressing Iran to agree to a deal that would permanently block its ability to develop a nuclear weapon.
Diplomatic efforts remain uncertain. A high-stakes U.S. trip to Islamabad for negotiations was put on hold after Tehran failed to respond to U.S. positions.
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I can sort-a understand a person not wanting to be where bullets are flying ( I’m a Vietnam vet ).
BUT when someone ( a country’s leadership ) has a plan to develop nuclear weapons and long range missiles with which to target the U.S. ( and any ‘friend’ of ours ), there is a time to eliminate that plan, it’s munitions, and it’s leadership!
That time is NOW!
It’s either them or us!
Iran has given us no other option!
The Iranian people can make a change to this situation, but that is up to them.
We did it in 1776! It CAN be done!
This smells. I wonder how far the Soros people had to look to find actual veterans who would carry their flag in protest against the Iran initiative.