There was a peaceful anti-war protest in DeKalb on Thursday evening. The event was part of a nationwide effort led by MoveOn.org. It gave people the opportunity to gather at 5:00 p.m. in their cities and say, "No War With Iran."
DeKalb's protest took place at Peace Corner, just off Lincoln Highway and 1st Street. More than 50 people gathered to express their concern.
Dani Brzozowski is running for Congress in Illinois' 16th District. She said, "I think President Trump and people like Representative Kinzinger thought they'd be able to take military action in Iran without fear of any consequence from the American public." She gestured to the cars driving by and the dozens of people around her and said, "That's not the case, right? People did not just sort of turn a blind eye to this."
Matthew Fazekas said, "I'm 23. We went to war with Iraq when I was six years old. I think it's time for this kind of thing to stop." He continued, "We live in a very unpredictable time. Another war is just not something I want to take a chance on."
Krista and Carly Hoecherl are sisters. Carly said, "We want to let the ones in charge know we want peace." Both acknowledged that they grew up with war and Carly said, "I think I was close to 7 or 8 and the wars with the Middle East just started. At that age, I did not understand why there was war. I asked my grandparents for a 'Peace' bumpersticker for my birthday, and they gave me one."
Her sister Krista Hoecherl opposes the missiles and violence of the past week and said, "We want peace."
Across the street, Pat Azzarello counter-protested with two other people. She said, "I am here to support the other side. I am not for war, but I am for a military response to protect our country."
Nationwide, there were more than 300 anti-war protests planned, including a dozen in Illinois. Those cities include Rockford, Springfield, Champaign, Carbondale, and Chicago.