SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Veterans, military family members, and supporters are detained by US Capitol Police officers during an demonstration calling upon the Trump administration to end the war on Iran on April 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for About Face: Veterans Against The War)
As Trump Threatens Iran, Veterans Arrested Protesting 'War Machine' at US Capitol
"Continuing to help the war machine will only cause you more pain. There has never been a better time to reject those orders, and join a fight that matters."
Apr 20, 2026
Dozens of veterans were arrested by US Capitol Police on Monday after they occupied the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill to protest President Donald Trump's illegal war on Iran.
During the protest, which was organized by a coalition of veterans groups, the demonstrators stood in the middle of the rotunda, holding red tulips and chanting anti-war slogans.
A video published by Reuters shows Capitol Police restraining the veterans and taking them into custody one by one.
Military veterans protest Iran war https://t.co/jtiGxiTMjv
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 20, 2026
One of the demonstrators arrested was Mike Prysner, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War (CCW) and a veteran of the 2003 Iraq War, who encouraged members of the US military to become conscientious objectors in a statement released ahead of the demonstration.
"The war I was sent to senselessly claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and a million Iraqis," said Prysner. "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."
Prysner then informed US service members that "conscientious objection is your legal right, and we have professional counselors who will fight to ensure you are approved and kept from deployment."
Tyler Romero, conscientious objector client for CCW, said that he "decided to get arrested today because as someone who was a participant in a war machine that is responsible for untold suffering around the world, it is my duty to help put an end to it."
Like Prysner, Romero also encouraged service members to declare themselves conscientious objectors.
"My advice to troops still serving is this," he said, "This is the most important historical moment of our lifetime, and what you choose to do matters. I can tell you from experience that continuing to help the war machine will only cause you more pain. There has never been a better time to reject those orders, and join a fight that matters."
Trump over the weekend renewed his threats to commit war crimes by bombing Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, unless Iran agreed to a deal to give up its uranium enrichment capabilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"If they don’t sign the deal, then the whole country is going to get blown up,” Trump said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Dozens of veterans were arrested by US Capitol Police on Monday after they occupied the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill to protest President Donald Trump's illegal war on Iran.
During the protest, which was organized by a coalition of veterans groups, the demonstrators stood in the middle of the rotunda, holding red tulips and chanting anti-war slogans.
A video published by Reuters shows Capitol Police restraining the veterans and taking them into custody one by one.
Military veterans protest Iran war https://t.co/jtiGxiTMjv
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 20, 2026
One of the demonstrators arrested was Mike Prysner, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War (CCW) and a veteran of the 2003 Iraq War, who encouraged members of the US military to become conscientious objectors in a statement released ahead of the demonstration.
"The war I was sent to senselessly claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and a million Iraqis," said Prysner. "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."
Prysner then informed US service members that "conscientious objection is your legal right, and we have professional counselors who will fight to ensure you are approved and kept from deployment."
Tyler Romero, conscientious objector client for CCW, said that he "decided to get arrested today because as someone who was a participant in a war machine that is responsible for untold suffering around the world, it is my duty to help put an end to it."
Like Prysner, Romero also encouraged service members to declare themselves conscientious objectors.
"My advice to troops still serving is this," he said, "This is the most important historical moment of our lifetime, and what you choose to do matters. I can tell you from experience that continuing to help the war machine will only cause you more pain. There has never been a better time to reject those orders, and join a fight that matters."
Trump over the weekend renewed his threats to commit war crimes by bombing Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, unless Iran agreed to a deal to give up its uranium enrichment capabilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"If they don’t sign the deal, then the whole country is going to get blown up,” Trump said.
Dozens of veterans were arrested by US Capitol Police on Monday after they occupied the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill to protest President Donald Trump's illegal war on Iran.
During the protest, which was organized by a coalition of veterans groups, the demonstrators stood in the middle of the rotunda, holding red tulips and chanting anti-war slogans.
A video published by Reuters shows Capitol Police restraining the veterans and taking them into custody one by one.
Military veterans protest Iran war https://t.co/jtiGxiTMjv
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 20, 2026
One of the demonstrators arrested was Mike Prysner, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War (CCW) and a veteran of the 2003 Iraq War, who encouraged members of the US military to become conscientious objectors in a statement released ahead of the demonstration.
"The war I was sent to senselessly claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and a million Iraqis," said Prysner. "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."
Prysner then informed US service members that "conscientious objection is your legal right, and we have professional counselors who will fight to ensure you are approved and kept from deployment."
Tyler Romero, conscientious objector client for CCW, said that he "decided to get arrested today because as someone who was a participant in a war machine that is responsible for untold suffering around the world, it is my duty to help put an end to it."
Like Prysner, Romero also encouraged service members to declare themselves conscientious objectors.
"My advice to troops still serving is this," he said, "This is the most important historical moment of our lifetime, and what you choose to do matters. I can tell you from experience that continuing to help the war machine will only cause you more pain. There has never been a better time to reject those orders, and join a fight that matters."
Trump over the weekend renewed his threats to commit war crimes by bombing Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, unless Iran agreed to a deal to give up its uranium enrichment capabilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"If they don’t sign the deal, then the whole country is going to get blown up,” Trump said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.