Washington D.C. – On March 21, outside the White House in Lafayette Park, hundreds gathered to protest U.S. wars. With signs reading “No to endless wars for empire,” and “No to war with Iran,” protesters spoke out against U.S. bombing campaigns in the Middle East and regions.

Veteran anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan spoke to the crowd saying, “It's the 12th anniversary of shocking and awful. The U.S. has been bombing Iraq since 1991.”

Scott Williams with the International Action Center said, “The U.S. empire was built on its oppression of people of color, women, LGBTQ people and workers from every continent. It has long been the greatest threat to humanity.”

Numerous activists from anti-war organizations spoke, criticizing the wars and conflicts under the Obama administration.

“Endless wars and empire connects to Black Lives Matter because Black Lives Matter works to destroy white supremacy and imperialism,” said Sean Blackmon of ANSWER Coalition and DC Ferguson, the last speaker at the event. “While they're sending money overseas to fund empire, it's taking money away from people over here starving and suffering from oppression.”

The crowd marched from the White House, stopping at the headquarters of the Zionist group AIPAC, chanting, “Down, down with occupation! Up, up with liberation!” The crowd then marched to the U.S. Capitol, yelling “No justice, no peace, U.S. out of the Middle East”.

“I'm horrified by what the U.S. government is doing, their war on Black people and the militarization of police,” said Alice Sturnstter with New York City Raging Grannies. “Stop the wars and bring the resources back home.”

The protest was called Spring Rising, an anti-war intervention in Washington D.C.

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