FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 4, 2026
On the 250th Anniversary of the Nation’s Founding, Over 500 Veterans, Military Members, and Families Marched in Philadelphia for a Country That Takes Care of All Its People
Veterans, active-duty service members, and military families gathered today at Washington Square Park in Philadelphia under the banner “Freedom Over Fascism,” marching against ICE, the occupation of American cities by the National Guard, the war on Iran, and threats to deploy troops at polling sites in November.
PHILADELPHIA — On the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, more than 500 veterans, active-duty military members, and military families gathered in the birthplace of the nation to reject what they called the Trump administration’s fascist vision for the country’s future. The coalition — About Face, 50501 Vets, Veterans For Peace, Common Defense, Military Families Speak Out, Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, and Center on Conscience and War, with the support of Women’s March — stepped off from Washington Square Park under the banner “Freedom Over Fascism.”
“Today, some people are celebrating the 250th anniversary of this country. Meanwhile, our neighbors are being kidnapped by ICE and put into concentration camps, VA, Medicaid and SNAP — vital services — are being cut to instead fund war crimes abroad, and for troops to occupy cities like DC, Memphis, and New Orleans,” said Rebecca Roberts, Organizing Manager of About Face: Veterans Against the War, a 12-year veteran of the New Jersey National Guard who resigned her commission in protest of U.S. foreign policy. Roberts noted the march returned to the same ground where veterans and military families gathered 50 years ago, during the Vietnam War, to demand a country that took care of them. “We cannot continue the next 250 years as we have the last 250,” Roberts told the crowd. “So who is with me?”
Rebecca Roberts led attendees in a call-and-response, asking marchers to raise their fists if they demanded no troops and no ICE in the streets or at the ballot box, an end to endless wars and war crimes, and a divestment from war in favor of funding communities at home.
Michael McPhearson, Executive Director of Veterans For Peace, invoked the Declaration of Independence signed 250 years ago in the same city. “On this anniversary, hundreds of veterans and military families have come to sound an alarm for democracy, as our national leaders ignore these basic truths, trample our rights, and treat us as subjects of them and the billionaire class, not as self-governing equals,” McPhearson said, comparing the deployment of military personnel into American neighborhoods to British suppression of dissent before the Revolution. He called on service members to “remember their duty to refuse illegal orders” and on the public “to honor our service not with thank-yous but by organizing and acting to protect our elections and to stop fascism.”
Cam White of the Center on Conscience and War, who marched alongside active-duty members of the Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy, said the number of active-duty troops joining the demonstration was unusual. “There are more active duty troops at this protest than there has been in generations, because people in uniform today are waking up,” White said, adding that many service members are “facing the greatest crisis of conscience that they have ever dealt with in their lives.” White reminded attendees that “servicemembers do not take an oath to a President or a government, they take an oath to the Constitution,” and that troops have “a duty to disobey unlawful orders.”
Maxine Rebeles, a Navy veteran and member of About Face and Common Defense from Laredo, Texas, tied the march to her work with the No Border Wall Coalition and Frontera Federation, describing efforts to stop a border wall and river buoys she said would endanger riverfront communities’ only water source. “We’re watching militarized law enforcement like ICE and Border Patrol harass, intimidate, and outright murder people who were standing up for their neighbors,” Rebeles said. “This is an alarm bell for the country. And we don’t intend to be quiet about it.” Rebeles closed with a symbolic gesture, laying yellow flowers to represent “250 years of repression and oppression” and a white rose to symbolize the future the coalition is fighting for. “The future does not belong to billionaires, it does not belong to bulldozers, and it does not belong to fear,” she said. “It belongs to our children, it belongs to our communities, and it belongs to us.”
Johnny Odom, a retired U.S. Army Sergeant First Class, combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and member of Military Families Speak Out, spoke as the father of a service member currently deployed to Jordan since the start of the war with Iran. “Today I stand here before all of you as a father… to denounce this illegal and unjustified war against the people of Iran, [and] the mis-utilization of American forces without Congressional approval and, most important, the people’s approval,” Odom said. “In my multiple deployments I honestly can’t tell you why we were in Iraq or Afghanistan or what we achieved other than violence and trauma. Now my son is repeating the cycle in Jordan, and it tears me up inside to think he is in harm’s way for no good reason.” Odom called on veterans and military families to help “restore the standards and traditions that make this country truly unique,” warning: “We are at a crossroads. We can choose to build and fight for the country that we all deserve, or let a wealthy few steer us down a path of ruin.”
About the Coalition
About Face is an organization made up of Post-9/11 service members and veterans organizing to end a foreign policy of permanent war and the use of military weapons, tactics, and values in communities across the country.
Fayetteville Resistance Coalition (FRC) is a non-partisan coalition of individuals and organizations united in opposition to authoritarianism. It advocates for governance that serves all people.
50501 Veterans is a nonpartisan, veteran-led advocacy organization dedicated to peaceful civic engagement and nonviolent action, working to uphold the oath to support and defend the Constitution through strategic advocacy, coalition building, and community engagement.
Veterans For Peace is a global organization of intergenerational military veterans, from WWII to the present, and allies whose collective efforts aim to abolish war as an instrument of national policy. Its network comprises over 140 chapters worldwide.
Common Defense is a veteran-led grassroots movement dedicated to protecting democracy, combating authoritarianism, and building a future where liberty and justice truly are for all.
The Center on Conscience & War is a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of conscience, opposes military conscription, and serves all conscientious objectors to war.
Military Families Speak Out round out the coalition, with support from Women’s March.
Please note you can find photos of the march here: https://www.gettyimages.com/editorial-images/entertainment/event/freedom-over-fascism-vets-march-on-philly-by-veterans-against-fascism/776516450?editorialproducts=all
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