“Devastated” and concerned by the prospect of a potential war, a group of about 17 protesters stood along Route 14 in Crystal Lake to rally against President Donald Trump’s recent actions against Iran.

Eveej Malone, chairwoman of Indivisible NWIL, said the purpose of the rally was to bring attention to what’s happening in “a very peaceful way.”

“War is not good for our country,” said Malone, the protest organizer. “It’s divisive, it’s painful, lives are lost unnecessarily and we are trying to stand against that. There’s a better way.

“War is not what brings peace. It brings destruction. ... A lot of people are hurt [in a war]. ... Lives are lost; neighbors are torn apart.”

About 377 protests across the country, organized by the group MoveOn, were scheduled for Thursday.

The protests come after a Jan. 2 airstrike ordered by Trump that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. The attack was followed by a vow of revenge from Iran, causing some to fear a potential military conflict between Iran and the U.S.

After Malone learned of the killing of Soleimani, she said the first question that crossed her mind was “are we still considered and respected as a nation of the people, by the people, for the people?”

“We don’t look like the America we say we represent,” Malone said.

The fact that many people in other areas also joined in protests Thursday made Malone feel like she and the other protesters in Crystal Lake were not alone.

“I’m connected with thousands of other activists just like me,” she said.

Some protesters on Route 14 held up signs. One sign simply said, “No War with Iran.” Another quoted author Ursula K. Lequin, saying, “If civilization has an opposite, it is war.”

Libby Pappalardo of Crystal Lake said she was at the rally because “we’re all tired of endless war.”

“I’m really outraged as an American that [Trump] isn’t listening to what the American people want, and that the Republican party is enabling him to do these crazy actions that are causing so much conflict in the world,” Pappalardo said. “Nobody wants this kind of violence.”

Trish Sullivan of Crystal Lake said the killing of Soleimani made her think of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which sparked the beginning of World War I.

“It was the same thing – it was the flame that burned the hearts of Americans and people around the world, and it incited fear and anger that was unnecessary,” Sullivan said. “I felt this is the start to something really horrible.”

However, she said seeing all the anti-war rallies has been “empowering.”

Phil Shelly of Crystal Lake said it made him hopeful that the rallies took place.

“At least somebody is standing up to this bully of a president,” Shelly said. “He’s on his way to becoming a dictator.”