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Veterans and military families protest Iran war on Capitol Hill
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+ Juliana Kim
Veterans, military family members and supporters are detained by Capitol Police officers during an demonstration in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill calling upon the Trump administration to end the war on Iran on April 20 in Washington, DC.
− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Veterans and military families protest Iran war on Capitol Hill In a protest that grabbed national attention, veterans and military families called for the Iran war's end on Capitol Hill.
+ Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for About Face: Veterans Against The War hide caption
When Kevin Benderman learned that the U.S.
− Dozens were arrested and some told NPR the U.S.
+ had entered a war with Iran, his mind teleported back about 20 years to Fort Hood, Texas — the day he received orders to deploy to Iraq.
That deployment profoundly changed Benderman, an Army veteran now living in Augusta, Ga.
− can't afford another war.
+ Despite coming from a long line of military service, he said nothing prepared him for the trauma and loss that he endured.
" I'm just nervous and upset about what I know the young service members are going to be facing when they are in Iran and what they're already facing," he said.
That worry led him to drive to Washington D.C.
− National Veterans and military families protest Iran war on Capitol Hill April 24, 20266:46 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Juliana Kim Veterans and military families protest Iran war on Capitol Hill Listen · 2:14 2:14 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5795898/nx-s1-9743193" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript In a protest that grabbed national attention, veterans and military families called for the Iran war's end on Capitol Hill.
+ earlier this week.
− Dozens were arrested and some told NPR the U.S.
+ He was joined by over 150 veterans and military families who occupied the Cannon House Office Building to call for an end to the war.
− can't afford another war.
+ The demonstration on Monday was abruptly ended by Capitol Police, who arrested a total of 66 people.
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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Some 150 veterans and military families who oppose the Iran war occupied a congressional building earlier this week, leading to dozens of arrests.
+ About Face, a veteran group who helped organize the protest, said everyone arrested has been released.
National There's growing disquiet in the military.
− NPR's Juliana Kim spoke with some of them.
+ The Iran war made it worse Since then, photos and videos from the act of civil disobedience have spread widely across social media — amplified by others who share a similar frustration and unease about the country's military action.
− JULIANA KIM, BYLINE: Inside the historic Cannon House Office Building, protesters lined up in rows holding up a sign that read, we can't afford another war.
+ The U.S.-Israeli campaign in Iran is nearing the two-month mark.
− Veterans weren't just talking about the actual dollars funding the conflict with Iran.
+ On Tuesday, a ceasefire was extended indefinitely while the U.S.
− They were talking about the cost in human lives.
+ continues a naval blockade on Iranian ports. As of Friday, American envoys are preparing for a new round of peace talks.
− KEVIN BENJAMIN: We've already had - 13 is the number of killed in action in Iran.
+ In response to NPR's request about veterans' concerns over the war, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in an emailed statement that President Trump took "decisive action to ensure that Iran could never harm our homeland, our troops, or our allies again."
"Once Iran's nuclear threat is removed for good, America and the entire world will be safer and more stable," she added.
Veterans, military family members, and supporters at a demonstration in the Cannon House Office Building on April 20.
− So, I mean, those families will never be the same.
+ Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for About Face: Veterans Against The War hide caption
Since the start of the war on Feb.
− And their friends will never be the same.
KIM: Kevin Benjamin (ph) is an Army veteran who fought in Iraq and was at the protest on Monday, which was organized by the group About Face and several other veteran organizations.
+ 28, some 50,000 American troops have been deployed to the Middle East.
− Benjamin says he knows all too well about the trauma and loss that service members bear after a war.
+ Thirteen service members have been killed and 400 have been wounded, according to the Defense Department. In Iran, over 3,300 people have been killed by U.S.-Israeli attacks, according to the country's forensic medical agency.
− BENJAMIN: I'm just nervous and upset about what I know these young service members are going to be facing when they are in Iran.
KIM: Robert Cheng (ph) is another Army veteran who was at the protest.
+ Under the rotunda in the Cannon building, veterans — young, old, some with visible disabilities and all wearing military jackets— held a flag-folding ceremony to honor the American troops who have died in the current conflict.
− And he says he's concerned that the conflict with Iran will drag on years, like America's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
+ They also clutched red tulips in remembrance of the Iranians killed by airstrikes.
− ROBERT CHENG: I had this deep sense of frustration that we were allowing another war to start in my lifetime.
+ Along with About Face, the protest was organized by the Center on Conscience and War (CCW), Veterans For Peace, the Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, Military Families Speak Out and 50501 Veterans.
− KIM: He says many veterans still wrestle with whether the fighting in Iraq was justified.
+ "We cannot afford another war," Matt Howard, About Face's interim organizing director and a Marine Corps veteran, said in a statement.
− He doesn't want a new generation to grapple with those kinds of questions.
+ "Funding this war means putting even more lives at risk."
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from April 15-20 found that 60% of Americans disapprove of the U.S. military strikes against Iran. In response to a question about the costs and the benefits to the U.S., 51% of those surveyed said the military action wasn't worth it.
− CHENG: They're sending, you know, people in their 20s off to war to fight for what?
+ Politics We watched 2 focus groups of Georgia swing voters.
− Who knows?
+ They're not happy with the Iran war Benderman said he sees a lot of parallels between the Iraq war and the current conflict with Iran.
− Because the objectives are not clear.
+ When he was deployed to Iraq in 2003, he believed the U.S. was going to war because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and represented a threat. But evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were never found.
− KIM: The war with Iran is nearing the two-month mark.
+ Now, hearing the president warn that Iran was on the cusp of a nuclear weapon, Benderman can't help but be skeptical.
" I always believed that… if my country was going to send me to a war, it would have a damn good reason to do it and it would be justified," he said.
− On Tuesday, the ceasefire was extended indefinitely while the U.S.
+ "There was no justification to send us to Iraq, just like there's no justification for us to be going into Iran."
After his first tour in Iraq, Benderman refused to deployed again on moral grounds and was sentenced to 15 months in a military prison.
− continues a naval blockade on Iran.
+ To this day, Benderman said he's haunted by the Iraq war.
He added that the hardest moment in his military service was attending the ceremonies of those killed in action and watching bereaved family members break down.
" I do not wanna see another family dealing with that same type of grief," he said.
Veterans, military family members, and supporters detained by U.S.
− When asked about veterans' concerns about the U.S.
+ Capitol Police officers following a protest on April 20.
− entering another forever war, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that, quote, "once Iran's nuclear threat is removed for good, America and the entire world will be safer and more stable." End quote.
+ Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for About Face: Veterans Against The War hide caption
Robert Cheng, another Army veteran who participated in the demonstration, said his concern was that the conflict with Iran will drag on for years, like America's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
− Juliana Kim, NPR News.
+ "I had this deep sense of frustration that we were allowing another war to start in my lifetime," he said.
− (SOUNDBITE OF BERRY WEIGHT'S "YETI'S LAMENT") Copyright © 2026 NPR.
+ Cheng added that he was especially horrified by the deadly Feb.
− All rights reserved.
+ 28 missile strike on an Iranian girls' school, which a preliminary assessment determined the U.S.
− Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
+ was responsible for, and the ongoing U.S.
− Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary.
+ blockade on Iranian ports.
"This military action that is being taken by the United States and Israel is not improving the situation," he said.
− Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio.
+ " This is not a solution to potential nuclear de-escalation."
Cheng said he has also been disturbed by how the White House has portrayed the war on social media with edited videos that mix together footage of actual airstrikes in Iran with pop music and video game clips.
Middle East conflict What has the U.S.
− Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication.
+ war with Iran accomplished?
− The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
+ "The White House is treating this conflict like a game while people's lives are at stake," he said.
For Jessica Serrato, whose partner is currently deployed in the Middle East, it's been a constant state of worry since the war began — worries about whether her partner will return home safely and how the war might affect him mentally in the months and years ahead.
" He's also scared to some extent, but he's on fight or flight mode," she said.
Serrato said she had long understood that military life involves risks and sacrifice.
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+ But it's been difficult for her to accept this situation because she said she doesn't fully understand the administration's objectives in Iran.
When she traveled to Capitol Hill this week for the protest, she did so in hopes of getting clarity to questions that have been weighing on her for weeks.
"When they're gonna get to come home? Why are they there?" she said. "And why do they keep sending more troops?"
But even after returning home, she's still seeking answers.
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