Locals hold protest on Broadway Bridge against ‘U.S. military aggression’
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IDAHO FALLS — A cold day didn’t prevent about 100 locals from taking to the streets again in Idaho Falls to protest what they call U.S. military aggression at home and aboard.
The anti-war protest was held along the Broadway Bridge on Saturday afternoon. It was the third local protest this month targeting what some locals call overly aggressive tactics by the federal government.
Prior to a march, several speakers were invited to speak at the Idaho Falls Greenbelt bandshell. After the speeches concluded, attendees marched to the Broadway Bridge waving signs.
Organizer Miranda Armenta says America’s priorities are skewed.
“We shouldn’t be spending money to send troops overseas when we should be taking care of our own,” she said. “A lot of us still can’t pay for groceries. Kids (and youth) are worried about what retirement will look like for them, especially once they have kids of their own.”
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Community leaders weigh in
Local veteran and political activist Joseph Funk expressed his opposition to multiple current issues in his remarks to the small crowd and highlighted a new organization he recently founded, “Veterans Against Fascism,” which he describes as a non-partisan effort to support veterans and oppose war.
“This is an anti-war rally, and there’s more than just Venezuela that’s going on at the moment,” Funk said. “We also have a war on our own cities. We have brought this militarization home. ICE is just the latest flavor of authoritarianism.”
Chance Marshall, a 29-year-old Democratic candidate for Legislative District 33 and president of the Young Democrats in Bonneville County, focused his remarks on “profiteering wars,” calling for greater attention to domestic challenges.
“(I) really feel like there are domestic issues that we should be focusing on with the current administration, rather than entering into what I would consider proxy wars or false equivalency wars.”
According to Marshall, “the most pressing domestic issue is affordability.”
David Roth, a Idaho Democratic National Committeeman and a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2026, encouraged greater political engagement at the local level.
“Protests are great, but the most valuable part of a protest is the organizing. We find like-minded people, we find organizations that we can join and be part of, so that the protest doesn’t just end at four o’clock when people leave the bridge,” Roth said.
Roth also condemned Trump’s recent foreign policies.
“(America) is moving away from being the steady hand of the world toward a more aggressive approach, taking what we think would benefit us. And you’re not just seeing it in Venezuela. We’re seeing it now in Greenland.”
Local participants also reported a variety of grievances, all aimed at the Trump administration.
Holly Ironstar, a member of a local Native American Tribe, held a sign that read “America Was Built On Immigration” and “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.”
“Even with the documentation, (tribal members) are still being detained and not released,” she said in reference to recent reports on ICE activity. “Their tribes are having to show up saying, ‘These are our members. These are our people,’ and it’s still happening. That’s the main reason I came out.”
Another local resident, Dan Henry, expressed general discontent with the Trump administration.
“We want to see him do some of the things he promised when he was running, lowering prices, ending their war in Ukraine. We want to see him release the Epstein files,” he said.
For Henry, immigration policy and the potential of military conflict in South America were also high on the list of concerns.
“I’m generally opposed to wars of aggression, and I’m especially opposed to the way Donald Trump is stirring up hate, discontent, and ruining our reputation worldwide,” Henry said. “The people who supported Trump for saying ‘no more wars’ are the ones being inconsistent now.”
Vanessa Martinez mentioned her commitment and concern for her family as major motivations to speak out against the Trump administration.
“I’m worried for my kids’ future,” Martinez said. “I have four kids, and I’m worried about the world that I’m having to raise them in.”
From her perspective, the issues in America transcend party lines.
“I feel like it’s a matter of right and wrong and right now. I feel like this is all wrong. I don’t care if you’re red, blue, liberal, conservative – this is all wrong, and we need to come together as a community.”