Above photo: Protesters in Dayton march against NATO.
On a spring weekend in Dayton, Ohio — nearly three decades after the 1995 Dayton Accords was imposed to conclude one phase of the war in the Balkans — activists, community members, and organizers from across the Midwest and East Coast gathered to oppose NATO’s continued legacy of militarism, imperialism, and global destabilization. The People’s Assembly for Peace and Justice brought together over 400 participants from across Ohio and the entire region (outnumbering NATO’s 300 delegates), united under one clear demand: end NATO’s endless wars and stop pouring public funds into the war machine at the expense of communities.
The protest and assembly coincided with NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly, held in Dayton as a symbolic return to the city where the Dayton Accords were signed in 1995 —an agreement often touted by Western governments as a diplomatic success, but one that many activists now argue helped cement NATO and US hegemony worldwide.
Why Dayton? The symbolism and irony of NATO’s return
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is a forum for legislators from the 32 member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This year, 281 parliamentarians from 32 countries and 88 national delegates came to Dayton, bringing with them high international visibility, a media spotlight, and, crucially, a heavily militarized security apparatus that cost taxpayers millions.
To many activists, this was a bitter irony. Dayton — historically a working-class city, deeply affected by the decline of industrial jobs and decades of disinvestment — was being asked to foot the bill, both financially and socially, for hosting a meeting of the very powers that continue to perpetuate military violence abroad. Many residents found it offensive that the government would spend more than $4.3 million on security and emergency management for NATO’s assembly, while so many of Dayton’s own neighborhoods continue to face poverty, gun violence, food insecurity and underfunded schools.
Dozens of grassroots, anti-war and socialist organizations came together to make the protest and People’s Assembly in Dayton happen. This development reflects a broader trend across the state: material conditions in Ohio have deteriorated rapidly over the past year, pushing more working-class people to become organized and fight back. From labor strikes to housing fights to anti-war resistance, people across Ohio are no longer waiting for change — they are organizing for it. The People’s Assembly captured that energy, serving as both a reflection and a catalyst of this growing movement for peace, justice and liberation.
The real cost of NATO in Dayton
According to public records and local reporting, $2.8 million was spent on costs associated with extra policing, fire department coverage and public works equipment. An additional $1.3 million was routed to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, responsible for assisting with high-level security. The Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center spent $100,000, and another $100,000 was spent by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
The state and local governments justified this spending by claiming the NATO event would bring “prestige” and “global visibility” to Dayton. However, peace and justice organizers pointed out that the majority of the budget went not toward civic engagement or community benefit, but toward the militarization of public space. What’s more, those security forces were ultimately deployed to monitor, intimidate and potentially suppress those very residents who assembled to demand peace.
In a bitter twist, money intended to facilitate diplomatic dialogue was instead used to finance the repression of peaceful protest.
A nationwide call for peace, justice and demilitarization
Despite this, the People’s Assembly served as a beacon of solidarity and resistance. It was not a one-off protest, but rather a convergence of organizations, campaigns and communities who have long fought against militarism, surveillance and mass incarceration.
Attendees included:
- Anti-war veterans from Veterans for Peace and About Face
- Labor organizers from SEIU, UE, and rank-and-file teachers’ unions
- Palestinian, Congolese, Haitian and Filipino community organizers connecting U.S. foreign policy to violence in their homelands
- Environmental justice campaigners opposing the military’s environmental footprint
- Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty activists linking NATO’s global footprint to violence inside the United States
Together, they declared: Peace is not just the absence of war — it’s the presence of justice.
A wide range of speakers unpacked the role of NATO in recent conflicts, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, U.S. support for the genocide in Gaza, NATO war on Libya and Afghanistan and the expansion of military bases across Africa under AFRICOM. Others highlighted the militarization of local police, who often train with NATO countries and share technologies and tactics, particularly those used to repress protest movements.
Policing, fear and public response
While the city’s leaders assured the public that security was necessary and proportionate, participants in the People’s Assembly saw a different reality. Leading up to the event, activists faced surveillance, intimidation, and threats of arrest. The protest space was heavily monitored, and police in tactical gear lined the streets — even though the demonstration was entirely peaceful.
Some organizers described the police presence as “chilling and excessive,” especially given that it was a peace rally. Helicopters hovered overhead, snipers were reportedly stationed on rooftops, and multiple security checkpoints lined the area around the NATO venue. Such a display of force, protesters argued, only underscored their point: NATO’s culture is one of dominance, not diplomacy.
A different vision for global solidarity
Despite the militarized response, the spirit of the assembly was powerful, hopeful, and forward-looking. Participants engaged in movement building, strategic planning and relationship-building across state lines and issue areas.
Among the key principles raised:
- International solidarity: Understanding that U.S. militarism is not an isolated issue — it affects people in every corner of the globe.
- Local investment: Redirecting war and policing budgets toward housing, healthcare, education, and climate solutions.
- Demilitarization of the police: Ending the 1033 program that transfers military equipment to local police departments.
- Community self-determination: Investing in grassroots democracy and mutual aid, rather than foreign occupations.
- Truth-telling: Speak out out so that those harmed by NATO and U.S. imperialism can expose the truth — rather than having Western diplomats and generals be the only ones the public hears from.
Attendees also discussed ways to sustain the movement post-assembly, including:
- Coordinated days of action in different cities
- A public campaign to demand a full audit of funds spent on the NATO visit
- Coalition-building across labor, racial justice, anti-war,and environmental movements
Moving forward: From protest to power
While the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton may have lasted only a few days, the People’s Assembly for Peace and Justice will have a much longer impact. It served as a catalyst for regional and national anti-militarist organizing and a reminder that ordinary working people will continue to resist the normalization of endless war and domestic repression.
The Dayton action echoes a growing national movement to reassess U.S. foreign policy and challenge the bipartisan consensus around military dominance. From Washington, D.C. to Oakland, from Gaza to Congo to Haiti, people are rising up to say: we deserve a world where our communities — not defense contractors — set the agenda.
The People’s Assembly concluded with a march through downtown Dayton. Banners reading “No to NATO,” “Fund Communities, Not War” and “From Ferguson to Fallujah, End the Occupation” filled the streets. As the crowd dispersed, one chant rang out loud and clear: “Another world is possible — and we are building it.”
Dayton may have hosted NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly, but it also hosted a vision for peace that goes far beyond diplomacy inside conference rooms. That vision lives in the streets, in our communities and in the commitment of those who refuse to let militarism define our futures.