Chanting “Keep the military off our streets! We won’t back down, we won’t retreat!” protesters filled downtown Washington to oppose any move to deploy federal forces against civilians.
The rally was driven by fears that the Insurrection Act could again be invoked to send troops into US cities—a threat repeatedly floated during Donald Trump’s presidency and echoed by his allies.
Speakers warned of a creeping normalization of military involvement in domestic law enforcement, linking current rhetoric to Trump’s past threats to use active-duty forces in Portland and other cities during protests.
US Army Major Harrison Mann, who resigned over Washington’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, said the possibility of troops being ordered to suppress Americans raised serious moral and legal questions.
He cautioned that the presence of agencies like ICE alongside military units could lead to chaos or abuse, calling on civilians to stand behind service members who refuse unlawful orders.
Other veterans criticized the political climate that made such scenarios conceivable.
Former Army Captain Josephine Guilbeau said she left the military after realizing she had been “a pawn to this government” and to “the rich.”
Protesters repeatedly targeted Trump in their chants, confronting an apparent right-wing influencer with shouts of “Trump must go now!” and “Go home Nazi!”
Activist and journalist Abby Martin told the crowd that “political repression is knocking on our door,” urging unity against militarism, war, and environmental destruction.
“This isn’t about foreign enemies anymore,” said one speaker. “It’s about holding accountable those who would turn the tools of war inward.”
Participants vowed to continue organizing, saying Trump’s authoritarian impulses had not disappeared—and that preventing a return to state-backed violence required collective resistance.