About 100 demonstrators gathered at Federal Plaza in the South Loop on Thursday, June 26 to protest U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets earlier this week.
The demonstration, organized by PSL Chicago along with other allied groups, came days after the United States struck three sites in Iran on Sunday, June 22, escalating its involvement in Israel’s war aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear program. The move raised fears of a wider regional conflict.
The next day, after 12 days of conflict, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel that has mostly held, although in his first public statement since the ceasefire Iran’s Supreme Leader warned on Thursday against further attacks and made threats directed toward the United States and Israel.
In Chicago, protesters held signs reading “Trump and Netanyahu: We won’t let you drag us into global war” and “Money for people’s needs, not war with Iran,” while chanting slogans such as “Fund the people’s needs, not the war machine” and “Biggest threat in the world today, Donald Trump in the USA.”
The protest was much smaller than ones in previous weeks, including one on June 14 that drew tens of thousands of people as part of a nationwide ‘No Kings’ protest against the Trump administration’s planned military parade in Washington D.C. and federal immigration raids.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th ward), who represents Pilsen and parts of Little Village, made an appearance about an hour into the rally and gave a speech to demonstrators atop the marble ledges. He said that putting an end to “these senseless wars” should be urgent to everyone and that the government is being complicit in genocide in the Middle East.
“This is another Iraq War, with a huge difference that this would be catastrophic,” he said after coming down from his speech. “The prospects of an Iranian War, that is completely fabricated by Netenyahu in Israel, would be catastrophic for our country.”
Brenna McBride, who resides in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, said she attended the protest to show solidarity. “We’re coming from such immense privilege in this city and this country,” she said.
Kathryn Stender, one of the organizers for PSL Chicago, said that the group created the event to protest U.S. involvement in the Middle East. “There is no reason that the United States needs to be creating war in these places,” said Stender.
Mike Morell, who resides on the south side of Chicago, came to the event to express disapproval over recent government actions in general. “It just causes a lot of mistrust over what’s coming out of this current administration,” said Morell.
Riley Badn, who came with Morel, said she wanted to know more about the situation. “I’ve been interested in finding every side of the story and also what’s going on in Iran,” Badn said.
Kamran Siddiqi, organizer with Answer Coalition, one of the other groups behind the protest, said he had “a lot on my mind” as a result of the U.S. strikes on Iran.
“I want to tell everybody that despite what’s going on in the world, that we have to continue to organize,” Siddiqi said. “We have to continue to fight, because what we do now, it has an impact. What we do now will inspire people to continue to fight in years to come.”
Sigcho-Lopez said he is glad to see so many people in Chicago mobilizing, raising awareness and calling on their local Senate and House representatives. He quoted Fred Hampton, a civil rights activist and deputy chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter, who said, “Nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all.”
“It’s something that a 21-year-old Black man from Chicago spoke decades ago, and we’ll never forget,” Sigcho-Lopez said.
Copy edited by Emma Jolly
