The sun beat down fiercely on several dozen protesters as they marched up Church Street in Burlington on Wednesday morning, chanting to the accompaniment of a funereal drumbeat on their way to the offices of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The demonstration, organized by the Vermont Peace Antiwar Coalition — a group primarily consisting of members of activist groups Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom — called for a swift diplomatic resolution to the war in Ukraine and for an end to U.S. aid for the Ukrainian war effort.
“What is war? What is war? Who profits? Who dies?” the protesters shouted as they marched.
Signs held up by the demonstrators emphasized the heavy death toll the war has had on Ukrainians and Russians, and suggested that the money the U.S. government has spent on the war effort should instead be used to solve domestic problems. One protester carried a cardboard sign that said, “Our Tax $$ for LIFE not DEATH,” and a pamphlet the demonstrators were distributing referred to U.S. aid for the war effort as “theft from working people to line the pockets of weapons manufacturers.”
The group also expressed frustration with Vermont’s senior senator, saying he had not been responsive to their outreach efforts. The Burlington protest occurred in tandem with a similar demonstration at Sanders’ offices in Washington D.C. on Wednesday morning, which resulted in the arrests of several antiwar activists.
“We have sent him a petition signed by many Vermonters, we have besieged his offices, and we have talked to his aides,” Martha Hennessy, a member of the Antiwar Coalition, said in an interview with VTDigger. “He’s a senator and he needs to talk to us. We want to see his face and we want to understand his position and help him understand our position.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Sanders has been unequivocal in his support for the Ukrainian government, and has continued to call for the U.S. government to provide direct aid to Ukraine.
When the demonstrators arrived at Sanders’ Burlington office, they found a small group of counter protesters waiting for them, waving Ukrainian flags and holding signs advocating for continued U.S. support for Ukraine.
Although the two groups engaged in light argumentation, the dynamic remained largely civil as the antiwar demonstrators set up a public-address system to address Sanders, who is in Washington this week.
“You have been ignoring us. We are here today, waiting for you until we get a response,” said one demonstrator, reading from a letter the coalition had previously sent to Sanders. “We are outraged that you have voted to send over $110 billion of our taxpayer dollars to throw fuel on the fire of war.”
Another coalition member said the war in Ukraine had brought the world closer to nuclear conflict than ever before and called for an immediate diplomatic solution.
The general air of civility was momentarily disrupted when an anonymous man was given the microphone and argued against a diplomatic resolution of the conflict. When an antiwar demonstrator tried to take the microphone back, the man shouted several expletives, then stormed off.
After the demonstrators’ remarks, the protesters rang the doorbell to Sanders’ offices and were met at the door by a member of his staff, who distributed a copy of a letter to the coalition. In the letter, Sanders expressed sympathy for the group’s “dedication to peace” while reaffirming his belief that the U.S. government should continue to provide direct aid to Ukraine.
“The U.S. should support a just peace in Ukraine based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and international law,” the senator wrote.
After that, the demonstration broke up, with several protesters saying they planned to head to Church Street to block traffic.
A short livestream of that demonstration showed about a half-dozen people blocking traffic before they were asked to leave and the stream ended.
An inquiry to the Burlington Police Department on Wednesday afternoon was not immediately returned.
