Several US military veterans and their family members, including those visibly specially-abled, protesting the US war in Iran, were arrested by Capitol Police on Monday.
The veteran held the flag-folding ceremony to commemorate the service members who laid down their lives in the war; others were seen holding red tulip flowers in honour of the Iranians who were killed by the US bombs in the conflict that began on Feb.28.
Many veterans, clad in their military fatigues, occupied the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., where they unveiled banners that said: “End the War on Iran.” They wanted anti-war slogans and called to end America’s “illegal wars” overseas and bring the US troops home.
Veterans held red tulips in solidarity with the Iranian people during civil disobedience today in Congress against the war. Over 60 were arrested. pic.twitter.com/FHRvsapYQN
— Mike Prysner (@MikePrysner) April 20, 2026
The event was organised by several US veterans groups, including About Face, the Centre on Conscience and War (CCW), Veterans For Peace, Common Defence, the Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, Military Families Speak Out and 50501 Veterans.
The veterans were arbitrarily detained by the US Capitol Police for their act of “civil disobedience” and “speaking out” against US President Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East. During the demonstration, at least 62 people were zip-tied by the US Capitol police and arrested, videos circulating on social media show. The exact number of arrests is unknown.
“Service members… don’t make the same mistakes we did. Exercise your rights to get out now.” – CCW Executive Director @MikePrysner arrested alongside 60+ veterans protesting Iran War today pic.twitter.com/2oyOdXcEfA
— Center on Conscience & War (@CCW4COs) April 20, 2026
Veterans Demand Face-to-Face Showdown with Speaker Mike Johnson
According to the Cannon House Office Building (CCW), the veterans were demanding that the US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) meet with them and accept the folded flag and make a pledge that the US will not continue the war in the Middle East.
Among those detained was the CCW Executive Director Mike Prysner, a veteran of the Iraq War, who demanded to bring an end to the Iran conflict that, in his words, was already unpopular in America. He said that the crisis in the Middle East, which has disrupted global trade and commerce, was a “crisis” for the US President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The war I was sent to senselessly claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and a million Iraqis,” Prysner said in a statement before he was arrested by the Capitol police. “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 argued that the conscientious objection to the deployment to foreign wars was the service members’ legal right. Another CCW client, Tyler Romero, who was also arrested alongside 60 veterans and military family members, served seven years in the US Navy, and filed as a Conscientious Objector last year.
“As a veteran and CO applicant, I have 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,” Romero said, according to a CCW statement. The CCW has prevented several American troops from deploying to ‘Operation Epic Fury’ and claims to be working with over 100 more soldiers to ensure they are not “forced to violate their conscience in this immoral [Iran] war.”
BREAKING: CCW Executive Director @MikePrysner, and conscientious objector client Tyler Romero, just arrested protesting Iran War with more than 60 veterans & military family members.
Read our statement: https://t.co/lah4xAAlo3
Photo from @VetsAboutFace pic.twitter.com/WUiLbJzUbk
— Center on Conscience & War (@CCW4COs) April 20, 2026
The veteran demonstrations began as the fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran nears conclusion, with US President Donald Trump rejecting an extension should Iran refuse to peacefully hand over its uranium enrichment to Washington. Trump also renewed his threats to Itan, saying that the “whole country is going to get blown up” if the high-stakes talks in Islamabad faltered and a deal could not be reached.
