MIAMI _ The assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani has sent shock waves throughout the world, inspiring protests in cities all over the country, including Miami.
CODEPINK: Women For Peace staged the protests to demand "no war on Iran" on Saturday.
In a Facebook post the group said, "The U.S. government didn't learn its lesson in the Iraq War _ over a million lives were lost and trillions of dollars were wasted. We're rising up to prevent another catastrophe!"
Hundreds of protesters came out waving signs, some clad in pink, in Miami, San Francisco, Albuquerque, N.M., Denver, New York and Washington.
Crowded in front of the Torch of Friendship on Miami's Biscayne Boulevard, about 35 to 50 protesters shouted chants and call and responses. Drivers passing by could hear screams of "No more drone murders," "We want peace now" and "What do we want? Peace in Iran."
The protesters waved signs that read "Honk for Peace," "Send kids to college not war" and "We will not be silent."
Along with the chants and signs, a few people spoke to rally the crowd behind stopping a war in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump was in South Florida when Soleimani was killed and spoke to an audience of thousands on Friday in Kendall at Ministerio Internacional El Rey Jesus.
During the event, he said, "Qassem Soleimani has been killed and his bloody rampage is now forever gone. He was plotting attacks against Americans, but now we've ensured his atrocities have been stopped for good. He was planning a major attack and we got him."
Thousands took to social media to share their opinions on Trump's decision to kill the head of Iran's elite Quds Force. #WW3, #WWIII and #WW3memes has been trending on Twitter since Soleimani's death on Thursday.
The elite Quds force was designated a foreign terrorist organization this year by the U.S. government. Soleimani and six others were killed in retaliation for an assault on the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad and deadly rocket attacks launched on American forces by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
Jokes and serious concerns of a possible draft have proliferated, to the point that the Selective Service tweeted, "Due to the spread of misinformation, our website is experiencing high traffic volumes at this time."
