The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
Veterans and others came from across Ohio on Friday to protest the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. But many said they had a broader agenda: to fulfill their oath to protect the Constitution.
About 200 gathered on the west lawn of the Ohio Statehouse, holding signs, chanting and waving to drivers heading up Third Street. Small cars, motorcycles and even large trucks honked their support.
Friday’s gathering was one of many held in 50 state capitals, and a larger rally was held in Washington, D.C.
Some at the Ohio rally carried signs saying “Save the VA,” while others said things like, “We do not take an oath to a king,” “Impeach President Elon,” “We are the real Oath Keepers,” “End Fascism,” and “Veterans vs. Nazis, Round 2.”
As the signs indicated, many said they turned out to protest the thousands already fired from the VA — which provides health benefits to vets. They also protested 80,000 additional VA workers proposed for firing by the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency.
RELATED: Veterans, workers and allies rally against VA layoffs
In many protesters’ minds the issues of benefits and constitutionality were connected — veterans benefits under threat by an unofficial agency headed up by the world’s richest man for whom nobody voted.
“This is a cause I fought for all my life,” said Cynthia Stratton of Columbus.
Stratton served 10 years in the U.S. Army and 15 in the U.S. Air Force, undertaking three tours of duty in Iraq. She called the Iraq missions “boondoggles,” but she said looking out for her fellow veterans and the Constitution was her duty.
Harmon Tully of Millersport served in the U.S. Navy as a weatherman on a helicopter carrier in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. He said Musk has no business deciding the future of the VA.
“I’m concerned about what Musk is doing to veterans benefits. They’re ours, not his,” he said.
Asked what he wanted to happen, Tully said he’d “like to see Musk go away.”
“Who is he and why is he here? He didn’t have to pass any confirmation or anything. In my opinion, he purchased where he is, he bought his position,” Tully said.
Rebecca Micallef, 24, of Columbus, served in the Navy from 2020 to 2024. Then, she was medically separated with post-traumatic stress disorder “after being sexually assaulted in the Navy two times with no help from my command,” she said.
Micallef said she was protesting Friday to protect benefits she needs to continue as a student at Ohio State.
“I go every week (to the VA for treatment), but now Trump’s threatening that,” she said. “Under his administration, we will lose our rights to VA benefits. I use the VA to deal with the trauma the military caused me. Without it I wouldn’t be able to deal with my daily life.”
It wasn’t a coincidence that the protests were scheduled for March 14. That’s a reference to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that people who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” after taking the oath of office are barred from taking office again.
Many of the marchers believe that’s exactly what Trump did on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters went to the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying his election loss. After again taking office in January, Trump granted clemency to more than 1,200 involved in the attack, including some who also had been convicted of rape and domestic violence.
Randy Holton of Columbus served in the Navy from 1970 to 1974. Between 1971 and 1973, he cruised off the coast of Vietnam, assisting in 84 missions firing naval artillery onshore in support of ground forces. He said he turned out Friday because of the oath he took all those years ago.
“I’m defending the Constitution,” Holton said. “That’s what I signed up to do. It seems like the Constitution is trying to slip away with the new administration. I’ve got to be here.”
Holton helped William Peel, 26, of Canton stretch out a banner Peel was holding. It said “A U.S. president is not above the law.” Just below was a crown with a red X through it surrounded by two images of the scales of justice.
A veteran of the Navy from 2017 to 2024, Peel said he’s worried about his peers.
“People in my generation aren’t really waking up and that’s a damn shame,” he said. “What’s happening right now for veterans, immigrants, women, minorities is sickening.”
Holton said he stays in close touch with former Vietnam shipmates, and he thinks some of their views might be changing.
“I don’t think they fully understand. Most of them are definitely (Trump voters), but I don’t think they understand what’s happening and how it’s hurting them,” he said. “But people are definitely listening to me now, and that wasn’t happening before the election.”
