Miami, FL – Over 25 people gathered outside of Senator Bill Nelson’s Miami office here on Sept. 12 to demand that the U.S. Senator from Florida vote against any military authorization bill that comes his way.

The rally began at 6:45 p.m. in front of Nelson’s office, which is located in Coral Gables. Protesters held Syrian flags and anti-war signs with slogans such as, “Hands off Syria,” and “I don’t want my tax dollars supporting Al-Qaeda.”

On Sept. 10, President Obama addressed the nation stating that the U.S. would postpone any immediate strikes against Syria, as well as the vote for Congressional approval. According to a POWIR (People's Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism) statement released the following day, the protest itself was not postponed because the military option is still not off the table and a vote could still happen at any moment.

Sandy Davies, of Progressive Democrats of America (Miami-Dade), gave the first speech at the protest in which he told the crowd that this was the first time in history that popular resistance against a war actually succeeded in deterring the U.S. from attacking another country.

“We must continue to resist the media’s narrative that Assad gassed his own people. It has never been proven true,” Davies said. “We must also resist any new red lines that the government puts forth to try ad justify attacking Syria. No new red line!”

Camilo Mejia of Veterans for Peace also spoke to the crowd. He said the U.S. remains the “world’s number one bully and the world’s number one war criminal,” and continued by saying that the U.S. has been using biological and chemical weapons since the extermination of Native Americans.

After the speeches, the group marched from Senator Nelson’s office to Ponce De Leon Park, chanting, “No Justice to peace, U.S. out of the Middle East!” Cars honked in support and onlookers raised fists in solidarity.

Upon arriving to the park, members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Green Party and POWIR delivered speeches opposing any new imperialist wars and actions overseas.

Kim Miller, an organizer with POWIR said, “All anti-imperialist and peace-loving people around the world should oppose all U.S. policies used to intimidate and bully independent nationalist governments!”

The event ended at 8:00 in the evening. This protest was part of a statewide call to action put out by POWIR for the week of Sept. 8. Cities across Florida held call-ins and protests urging representatives and senators to vote no on war with Syria. People and organizations in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Gainesville all took part in the week of action.

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