QuickTake:

Members of Veterans for Peace were among those rallying. “I took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, and we believe our biggest danger is domestic,” one of them said.

Pat Driscoll said when he volunteered for service during the Vietnam War, he took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

“For any veteran that feels any duty to his oath, he’s required to stand up and resist against this fascist government,” Driscoll, who lives in Eugene, told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. 

The 73-year-old Navy veteran is a member of the Lane County chapter of Veterans for Peace, a global organization with a mission to abolish war and nuclear weapons. He was among a group of military veterans and supporters gathered at the corner of Sixth Avenue and High Street in front of the Eugene Federal Building on Tuesday morning to protest actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

Larry Chapman, 76, gathers with Veterans for Peace at the Federal Building to protest United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Eugene, Sept. 30, 2025. “I tattooed an American flag on my arm in 1967. Went to Vietnam, volunteered. It’s my flag. Nobody is going to take it from me,” Chapman said. “Guys like me went to war so that our kids and our grandkids and everybody can walk around and do what they want and say what they want.” Credit: Isaac Wasserman / Lookout Eugene-Springfield / Catchlight / RFA

Driscoll highlighted the case of an Army veteran who was detained by immigration officials in Washington state last month. According to the Seattle Times, Zahid Chaudhry, who is originally from Pakistan, was detained by ICE after he arrived for a citizenship interview in Tukwila, Washington.

“When Zahid Chaudhry, a decorated disabled wheelchair-bound veteran with a distinguished service record and no U.S. criminal record is abducted by ICE, denied the medicine he needs to preserve his vision and threatened with deportation, no one is safe,” Driscoll said. 

A news release from the Department of Homeland Security states law enforcement determined Chaudhry was in violation of federal immigration law. It also states Chaudhry has a criminal history in Australia.

Driscoll said he plans to join the Portland chapter of Veterans for Peace in protesting National Guard troops being deployed there, which President Donald Trump has authorized.

“We’ll be reminding them to fulfill their oath,” he said. 

Rick Staggenborg, 67, who lives in Albany and is part of a Veterans for Peace chapter there, said he heard that federal police detained protesters during an anti-ICE rally in front of the Eugene Federal Building last week. He said people are being punished for exercising free speech. 

“I took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, and we believe our biggest danger is domestic,” Staggenborg said. “What’s happening with ICE is reminiscent of what happened in Germany in the 1930s.”

Other protesters gathered outside of the Federal Building throughout the afternoon. According to a press release from the Lane County Immigrant Defense Network, dozens of people from allied groups demonstrated against ICE. Faith communities gathered at the building and Indivisible Eugene/Springfield held a silent protest.