Protesters at Ross’s Landing voice concerns over ICE and strike on Iran

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – While News 12 was at Ross’s Landing covering an ICE protest, we took the opportunity to ask citizens what they thought about the strike against Iran.

We also spoke with Congressman Chuck Fleischmann about many of the protesters’ concerns.

A group of protesters gathered together and joined hands, singing, “When you’re not strong, I’ll be your friend. I’ll help you carry on.”

Many protesters voiced their opposition to ICE.

Others used the gathering to express their disapproval of the attack on Iran.

Protester Allison Gorman said, “So we’re also here to protest the war against Iran, which is very, very clearly meant as a distraction. It’s not something that Congress approved.”

“And again, all of this is constitutional processes not being followed,” she stated.

Another protester, Daryl Brand, said that while information continues to come out, he strongly disagrees with the decision.

Brand said, “Well, I think it’s a tragic thing, and I think it’s a dangerous, probably, irresponsible thing for our government to be involved in something like that. There are certainly other ways of addressing those kinds of problems.”

A group of young men who call themselves nationalists told us they are not taking sides.

One member, Ishayar Ruach, said, “All right, I guess if we had to give a political stance, we would consider ourselves nationalists.”

Ruach continued, “We believe in the betterment and the improvement of our race and our race alone.”

Another member, Yahoo Shalom, said, “It’s a biblical prophecy, and the land does not belong to either group.”

“We’re occupied in the prophecies of this Bible, and we were just keeping an eye on what’s going on there, because, uh, what’s going on there, it foretells, it’s foretold in the Bible,” Shalom elaborated. “So, we know that the Messiah is on his way back, you know, and we’re just preparing ourselves.”

We also spoke with veteran Robin Flores, who said Iran should have been handled in 1979.

However, he believes the way it is being handled now is incorrect.

Flores stated, “Congress has just been, you know, they’re spineless. The Republicans in Congress are spineless. They’re allowing this to go on. There’s supposed to be a co-equal branch of government. They’re not doing any oversight, and what they’ve done, they’ve, you know, opened up the Pandora’s box.”

Congressman Chuck Fleischmann said he supports President Trump and the decision that was made.

Fleischmann said, “For months, we’ve negotiated with the regime in Iran, told them to stop killing their people, told them to move away from nuclear weapons, we told them to stop with their hateful rhetoric towards Israel, told them to stop sponsoring terrorism all around the world, and they did not listen.”

He added that he hopes to see Iran work with the United States as it once did before the Islamic regime.

As protests continue in Chattanooga, opinions remain divided, with demonstrators expressing concerns over constitutional processes, foreign policy decisions, and the role of federal agencies.