Anti-war demonstration to be held in Pocatello over US involvement in Venezuela
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POCATELLO — A protest to oppose potential American military involvement in Venezuela is planned for Sunday in Pocatello.
The event will be from 2 to 4 p.m. at the pavilion in Caldwell Park.
It will feature several local speakers before participants walk to Sen. Jim Risch’s office to call on him to support new war powers legislation aimed at limiting military action without congressional approval. The resolution passed the Senate on Friday with the support of Democrats and five Republicans. Risch stood with the majority of the GOP and was not among the five.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called the resolution a “clear rejection of the idea that one person can unilaterally send American sons and daughters into harm’s way without Congress, without debate,” according to The Associated Press.
There’s little chance of it becoming law because it would need to pass the Republican-controlled House, and President Trump would have to sign it. Trump has criticized the Senate vote as “impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief” under the Constitution, the AP said.
Additional demonstrations are planned in Idaho Falls in the coming weeks, though dates have not yet been finalized.
The organizer of the protest is Joseph Funk, a Pocatello resident.
Funk enlisted in the Idaho Army National Guard in 2005 and served 10 years in combat roles in Iraq. He says his opposition to U.S. intervention in Venezuela is rooted both in principle and personal experience.
After leaving the military, he struggled for years with mental health challenges stemming from actions he said he was ordered to carry out during his service.
“It took me a long time to recognize what was happening,” he said. “Some of the things we’re asked to do are just wrong. I understand the difference between right and wrong, and my past experience and challenges pushed me in this direction on this issue.”
Funk pointed to what he sees as increasingly authoritarian actions by the current administration, both domestically and abroad, which he believes violate democratic principles he was taught to value growing up.
“I don’t see those principles being applied anymore,” he said. “That’s when I decided I had to do something.”
The protest is co-sponsored by About Face: Veterans Against the War, and SEIDSA, the Southeast Idaho Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
About Face: Veterans Against the War is a national organization of post-9/11 veterans and active-duty service members. According to its website, its mission is to “end a foreign policy of permanent war and the use of military weapons, tactics, and values in communities across the country.”
Funk says he joined the organization in 2024, although this is the first event he has organized in connection with it.
Funk is also a local member of SEIDSA. The two organizations came together to support the protest under his leadership.
Organizing efforts have included outreach to community groups and churches, though no congregations are officially sponsoring the event.
Funk said the goal has been to help the public understand that military policies have a direct impact on service members. According to him, the United States has “less than no business” intervening in the country’s internal affairs, and Venezuelans have a right to self-determination.
“Stepping in because of a political agenda that violates another nation’s sovereignty is unacceptable, especially when it contradicts the values Americans claim to stand for,” he said.
He emphasized the human cost of military escalation. Drawing on his own experience in prolonged conflicts, he warned against repeating the cycle of open-ended wars.
“I participated in a forever war with no end date,” he said. “I have friends who have taken their own lives because of that. We can’t do that to hundreds of thousands more people.”
He described opposition to such conflicts not merely as political disagreement, but as a moral obligation.
“We have a duty to stop this,” he said. “This is how we do it, with the voice of the people.”