MILWAUKEE — Demonstrators gathered at Cathedral Square and elsewhere downtown Milwaukee on Saturday, opposing U.S. military involvement with Iran.
Despite snow and cold temperatures, dozens of Milwaukee residents turned out for two separate protests after learning about U.S. military strikes on Iran. Both demonstrations drew crowds opposed to military action in the region.
Watch: Why protesters in Milwaukee gathered to oppose the U.S. and Israel's airstrikes against Iran on Saturday.
Joseph Hamilton helped organize the first protest at Cathedral Square.
"The situation with Iran had been building up to a boiling point for a while," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said he believes military action overseas takes attention and resources away from issues at home.
"It should be focused on making sure people can eat, people can get educated, making sure people don't get evicted from their homes," Hamilton said.
Mack Shaffer was on his way home from work when he decided to stop and join the crowd, even as the weather worsened. Shaffer said he has concerns about Iran's government but questions whether strikes are the right response.
"The fact that you ordered strikes on another country without approval from the House or the Senate — that's just wrong," Shaffer said.
Shaffer also said he thinks about how conflict impacts those living in war-torn areas.
"It makes it a point that we go out of our way to look out for them," Shaffer said.
Later in the evening, a second protest downtown drew another group, including organizer Alan Chavoya. He said they had been preparing for the possibility of escalation.
"We knew that an attack was imminent… in the event of an attack there would be an emergency protest because we need to oppose it," Chavoya said.
Organizers said their goal is to see an end to U.S. military involvement in the region and a shift in focus to domestic priorities. They told me they plan to continue demonstrating in the weeks ahead.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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