Andy Thayer (center left, front) speaks at a pre-rally press conference. Federal Plaza, 6/22/25.

By Dominic Guanzon

Sunday, 6/22/25

THE LOOP, CHICAGO – Approximately 150 protesters rallied at Federal Plaza and marched through downtown in response to Trump’s air strikes in Iran. A common theme throughout the speeches was the fear of escalation and yet another “forever war” in the Middle East.

“While the mainstream media may shift its focus to manufacturing consent for war with Iran, we reject this genocidal narrative. We see through it all,” said an organizer for the Palestinian Youth Movement of Chicago.

Nino Brown of ANSWER at the microphone during the rally. He served as MC. Federal Plaza, 6/22/25.

Another was solidarity with the people of Iran, even if their government is not “perfect.”

“Frequently, the oppression…against LGBTQ people is used as an excuse for American imperial adventures,” said Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network. “And make no mistake, gays are oppressed in Iran, as they are around the world. But the last thing this country should be doing to support LGBTQ people is bombing them.”

Protest organizers included the PSL, ANSWER, and the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation, among others.

BELOW: Video example of how Chicago PD uses bikes to kettle protests/marches taken at the 6/22 march.

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The rally began at about 18:00, with the march beginning at around 18:45. CPD did not appear to be aware of a march happening, as they first shouted verbal commands for yellow-vested protest marshals to exit Dearborn St.

Once the main body of the march began walking up Dearborn, CPD pivoted to kettling, setting up improvised barriers and road closures with their bikes. Several flashpoints occurred when marchers attempted to cross intersections where CPD were in the process of barricading, but no major instances of police violence were seen.

Legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild were present for a police presence that started lightly, but grew once the march started.

Eventually, the protest circled back to Federal Plaza without arrests.

A man in a pink polo and “ULTRA MAGA” cap heckled the rally multiple times, claiming MAGA does not want war, despite the Trump Administration’s actions and the point of the protest. Protest marshals and organizers silently blocked him from advancing closer to the microphone until he left. Federal Plaza, 6/22/25

After the protest’s dispersal, a member of the ANSWER group claimed there was “zero coordination” with CPD on the march, explaining how, with numbers, they can make the police “irrelevant” when it comes to demonstrations, and that more would be coming as the war escalates.