72 Veterans and Military Family Members Arrested at Cannon Rotunda After Folding Flags for 13 U.S. Troops Killed in Iran War
Center on Conscience and War Executive Director Mike Prysner and a coalition of seven veterans' groups staged a flag-folding ceremony inside the House office building, demanded a meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson, and were zip-tied by Capitol Police after holding red tulips for Iranians killed by U.S. strikes.
Seventy-two veterans, military family members, and supporters were arrested Monday inside the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building after a coalition of seven veterans' organizations occupied the space to demand that House Speaker Mike Johnson meet with them about ending the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.
According to a statement from the Center on Conscience and War, CCW Executive Director Mike Prysner, Iraq War veteran, and Tyler Romero, a current conscientious objector applicant CCW is representing, were among those arrested. The other 70 were veterans and military family members.
The demonstrators stood in formation in the center of the second-floor rotunda holding red tulips to honor Iranians killed in U.S. strikes, unfurled banners reading "End the War on Iran" and "We Can't Afford Another War," and conducted a flag-folding ceremony for the 13 U.S. service members who have died in the war that began February 28.
The organizing coalition
The action was organized by seven groups:
- About Face
- Veterans For Peace
- Common Defense
- Center on Conscience and War
- Fayetteville Resistance Coalition
- Military Families Speak Out
- 50501 Veterans
What the organizers said
In the statement released before his arrest, Prysner described his Iraq service: "The war I was sent to senselessly claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and a million Iraqis. I am getting arrested to raise awareness" about the parallels to the current conflict and the legal right of active-duty service members to declare conscientious objector status.
Romero, who joined the military and is now seeking CO status, said: "As a veteran and CO applicant, I have decided to get arrested today because as someone who was a participant in a war machine... it is my duty to help put an end to it."
CCW said in its release that its counselors have already prevented several troops from deploying to Operation Epic Fury—the Pentagon's name for the Iran campaign—and that more than 100 additional active-duty service members are currently working with the group on CO applications.
Public opinion
The protest follows polling that has consistently shown majority opposition to the war. A Quinnipiac University national poll released March 25, 2026 found 54 percent of voters oppose the U.S. military action against Iran and 39 percent support it, essentially unchanged from its March 9 poll, which also found 74 percent oppose sending U.S. ground troops into Iran. Democrats oppose the war 92-5; independents oppose it 64-28; Republicans support it 86-9.
A January 14, 2026 Quinnipiac poll, taken before strikes began, found that 70 percent of voters said a president should seek congressional approval before taking military action against another country.
What happens next
Speaker Johnson has not publicly responded to the veterans' demand for a meeting. Those arrested were zip-tied by Capitol Police and led out of the building; the U.S. Capitol Police has not yet issued a public statement listing charges or the official arrest count. The coalition has indicated further actions are planned.