Around one hundred people, including eight veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, this afternoon have gathered outside a military recruitment center in Hollywood to protest. "We're really here to say, on this ninth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan, that the U.S. should end the war right now," explained Ian Thompson, a coordinator with the Answer L.A. Coalition. "We wanted to show that there are still people against this war and we think the numbers are growing."
Thompson said the center, located at the corner of Hollywood and La Brea, usually closes at 4:30 p.m. Today, however, they shut down around 3:15 p.m. as protestors arrived.
Shutting down the center was their goal, but they have larger demands, including funding jobs, housing, healthcare and housing instead of war, removing military recruiting centers from schools and communities and working to end racism, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant attacks.