“The War Has Come Home”: Veterans Deliver Powerful Message of Resistance at Portland Rally

October 7, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Maria Sipin, Chief of [email protected]

"The War Has Come Home": Veterans Deliver Powerful Message of Resistance at Portland Rally

PORTLAND, OR - In a moving and resolute demonstration on the steps of City Hall this past Sunday, a coalition of veterans stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a large crowd of Portland residents and visitors from around Oregon and Southwest Washington, sending a clear message of defiance against threatened military deployment to the city and affirming servicemember's duty to the Constitution.

The event, "Duty to Disobey: Veterans Stand Against War on American Soil," featured emotional testimony from veterans of multiple conflicts who framed the current moment as a direct consequence of decades of militarization.

"For my entire adult life, I have witnessed the federal government pour trillions of dollars into a machine that is capable of waging war on a global scale," said Portland City Councilor and U.S. Army veteran Mitch Green. "We built bombs, guns, ships, fighter planes and drones… and now that war has come home."

Portland City Council Vice President Tiffany Koyama Lane, Councilor Sameer Kanal, and Councilor Angelita Morillo attended as Councilor Green's fellow socialists in office. Beaverton City Councilor Nadia Hasan and Beaverton School Board Member Dr. Tammy Carpenter also attended.

The rally served as a powerful rebuttal to the characterization of Portland as a war zone. "I served from 1999 to 2007 and deployed to the Iraq War right after the initial invasion with the first Armored Division. I can tell you, this is not a war zone. End of story," said one veteran and Portlander. Mike Prysner, an Iraq War veteran, echoed that sentiment. "Portlanders know that Trump's characterization of this city as a hellscape… is a fantasy that lives in the minds of a minority of the right wing in this country," he said.

Speakers directly addressed active-duty service members, offering support and urging moral courage. "When you signed your oath of enlistment, the highest commitment in that oath is to support the Constitution, not to unconditionally obey the orders of the president," Councilor Green stated.

The human cost of following immoral orders was a central theme. Chris, a six-year Army infantry veteran with About Face, spoke to the epidemic of moral injury and suicide among veterans, stating, "There is no honor or glory in repressing people across the globe, and there's no honor or glory in repressing them at home."

The event concluded with a call to resistance. "Veterans say: Troops off our streets!"

Download video from the event here.

Watch on YouTube.

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Website portland.gov