Approximately 200 protesters gathered at the Utah State Capitol on Sunday afternoon to protest the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities June 21, 2025.
The protest, organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and University of Utah Mecha, a leftist student group, condemned the strikes and called for an immediate end to U.S. military involvement in the Middle East.
Throughout the protest, multiple speakers shared personal stories and called for an end to what they described as decades of U.S. and Israeli aggression in the Middle East.
“[The strikes do not] seek to solve any of the inherent problems that are being experienced in the region,” PSL member Adrian Rollins said. “It puts not just the Iranian people, but the American people, in greater jeopardy of a wider regional, if not global, war.”
Rollins, a former military veteran, described Saturday’s bombing as “completely illegal” and an “overstep” of military powers by the Trump administration.
Around him, demonstrators held anti-war and anti-Trump signs while repeated chants such as “Biggest threat in the world today? Donald Trump and the USA,” and “We want justice, we want peace, hands off the Middle East.”
The crowd, many carrying Palestinian and upside-down American flags, included participants of various ages and backgrounds, from students to Vietnam War-era activists.
Jacob Potter, a demonstrator at the Capitol, said that he attends protests “to get the word out” and “send a message to the leaders of our country.” He also emphasized the need to build stronger local coalitions to address broader issues such as foreign policy.
“We need to work on empowering smaller communities and bring people together that look out for one another and try to improve the world,” Potter said.
University of Utah Mecha member Julio Irungaray echoed Potter’s perspective on collective action. He noted that The Answer Coalition, an anti-war activist group opposed to U.S. foreign intervention, has organized nationwide demonstrations, including the one in Salt Lake City.
“There’s tens of thousands of people [protesting] all over the country,” Irungaray said. “I’m only assuming it’s going to get bigger.”
Irungaray expects future participation in anti-war protests to increase over time, similar to past pro-Palestine rallies in Salt Lake.
“When we held the rally for Palestine right after Oct. 7, it was a small crowd. A couple weeks later, it was one of the biggest rallies for Palestine that Utah had ever held,” he said. “That’s what I anticipate for this movement.”
