SANTA CRUZ >> Dozens of Santa Cruz County residents took to the streets Monday to call for peace in the Middle East shortly after President Donald Trump inserted the United States into a war between Israel and Iran by bombing a series of Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

At least 50 people came out to demonstrate on the corner of Ocean and Water streets in Santa Cruz less than two days after Trump directed American pilots to pepper three Iranian nuclear sites with 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs meant to cripple the country’s nuclear development program.

“We’re doing the same old playbook; doing it all over again to get us involved in a war,” said Jenny Evans, a co-leader with Indivisible Santa Cruz County. “This is the president who ran on the fact that he was a peace president. There was going to be peace and the first opportunity he has, he declares war on his own.”

Evans said Indivisible organizes an event on the same corner from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. every Monday, but recent events caused the protest this week to include a mixture of anti-war and anti-Trump signage. One attendee held a sign that read “stop the war machine,” while others spelled out “Rome is burning” and “impeach and remove.”

Cathy Gill hoisted a wide sign with large block letters that read “Bad plan, dude.” She said she felt it was the right one for the current moment, but noted she and her husband actually first put it together in 2003 after the American invasion of Iraq.

“It’s a repeat of history, unfortunately,” said Gill. “He (Trump) has started a war with Iran and it’s not a good thing. More people are going to die. Nobody in this country wants war anymore and it’s just not a good thing. Period.”

In response to the American bombing, Iran carried out a limited missile strike of its own on Monday that hit a U.S. military base in Qatar but resulted in no casualties. Trump had been attempting to mediate the conflict between Israel and Iran in the hours during and after the rally in Santa Cruz. He announced that a ceasefire deal had been struck late Monday but followed up soon after to say that the deal had been violated by both sides. As of Tuesday, a tenuous ceasefire had gone into effect once again.But regardless of the current window of peace, many at Monday’s protest called Trump’s initial bombing decision illegal because it was made without consent from Congress.

In a statement shared Saturday, Rep. Jimmy Panetta said the strike was carried out without authorization by Congress and flouted the constitutional authority of an equal branch of government. Panetta wrote that the president’s decision threatened to escalate tensions, destabilize the region, and drag the United States into an avoidable conflict.

“This type of unauthorized military action could easily lead to an escalation of the conflict and put many of the 40,000 U.S. service members in the Middle East at risk from retaliation by Iran and its proxies,” Panetta said in the statement. “Although Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities may now be degraded, its knowledge, geology, and desire to obtain nuclear weapons remain. That is why the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, protect America and Israel, and provide stability and peace to the region is not through direct conflict, but through leadership, negotiation, and diplomacy.”

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that an early intelligence assessment from American officials indicated that the weekend strikes on the Iranian facilities did not destroy the core components of the nuclear program and only set back its development by a few months.

Meanwhile, there were also some at the rally who were upset with both political parties in Congress when it came to American involvement in foreign wars and general defense spending.

Ralph Lombreglia, who said he supported third party candidate Jill Stein in the 2024 election, shared intense frustration with Trump’s actions but also was upset about the money and resources in America that go toward military and defense operations instead of health care and social services.

“We should be providing health care for everybody, free education for everybody, housing for people who are in need. All these things, and instead we’re spending $1 trillion or more on the military every year,” said Lombreglia. “Democrat or Republican, it’s the same big mess.”

Still, the anger at the recent Trump administration actions — both militarily and politically — united all at the rally.

“I think it’s stupid and dangerous,” said Jan Chaffin. “Little boys doing their stupid war games. I’m just sick of it.”