On the 13th of June, 24 hours before Trump’s parade, Veterans and their supporters held a press conference at the US Supreme Court. They demanded that troops be removed from policing protests and ICE be sent home. They demanded that the money being spend on Trump’s parade be spent instead on the people. They specifically demanded “Benefits not Bullshit.” Note that Trump and DOGE are gutting the Veteran’s Administration,
Speakers reminded current active duty servicemembers that their oath was to the Constitution not Trump and that unlawful orders must be defied. The broader message for current servicemembers was “it’s time to choose.”
The presser served as a diversion. Immediately afterwards protesters marched from SCOTUS onto the Capitol grounds. The “bicycle rack fence” barricade was breached and protesters charged the East steps, successfully occupying the steps
During or immediately after the charge one person was apparently either thrown down the steps or tackled by cops on the concrete and injured. Once that situation settled down, things stabilized.
This proved to be a classic Capitol Hill civil disobedience. An estimated 60 people were arrested. Trump’s threats of “very heavy force” turned out to be a load of hot air at least as far as this day before protest was concerned.
