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.

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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. 

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Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Featured image is a screenshot from the video

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