Veteran John Spitzberg — whose service spanned the Army, Air Force and Air National Guard — was detained by police June 13, 2025, as the veteran rolled his four-wheeled aluminum walker across a plaza near the Capitol. (About Face: Veterans Against the War)

WASHINGTON — An 87-year-old Army and Air Force veteran who traveled to the nation’s capital from an assisted-living facility in Florida to protest the Army’s 250th anniversary celebration was arrested and held overnight by authorities after he crossed a police barricade.

John Spitzberg — whose service spanned the Army, Air Force and Air National Guard — was among 62 demonstrators detained by authorities on June 13, the night before a major parade in downtown Washington, according to U.S. Capitol Police.

Spitzberg, who is disabled, was rolling his four-wheeled aluminum walker across a plaza near the Capitol and the Supreme Court, when police stopped him, the veteran said.

Several videos posted to social media of his arrest drew more than a million views, according to Veterans for Peace, which stated it was there to protest the parade and other festivities estimated to cost $40 million. Spitzberg is a member of the organization.

The videos showed police removing Spitzberg from his walker as the veteran struggled to remain standing on his own. He was handcuffed with zip ties and led away.

“I primarily went to Washington because I don’t like what’s going on at the [Department of Veterans Affairs]. Those people working there are scared to death they’re going to get the chopping block, and that’s where I get all my health care,” said Spitzberg, a former major who served in the military from 1958 to 1972.

Spitzberg and other veterans were arrested on charges of crossing a police line and crowding, obstructing or incommoding, Capitol Police said.

The protesters were arrested, loaded into wagons and taken to a secure mass processing center on K Street, according to police.

Spitzberg and many other demonstrators were detained overnight, said Michael McPhearson, an Army veteran and director of Veterans for Peace.

“They treated John pretty well,” said McPhearson, 61, of Seattle, who also was arrested. “They let him have his zip-tied hands in front of him, after he told them he was in pain with them behind his back.”

Protesters next month will face charges in Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

They are members of Veterans for Peace and About Face: Veterans Against the War, McPhearson said.

Police made the arrests after the two not-for-profit organizations held a news conference outside the Supreme Court building.

Capitol Police said the arrests came after a bicycle-rack barrier was pushed down and a police line was “illegally crossed” as demonstrators charged toward the steps leading to the Capitol Rotunda.

But McPhearson said he and the others wanted to rest on the Capitol steps after the news conference.

“We were just trying to sit there. We weren’t being disruptive. It wasn’t necessary,” he said.

Spitzberg, who was not hurt in the incident, said: “I supposed they handcuffed me because they thought I might try to get away.”

The news conference outside the Supreme Court building featured remarks from Army, Air Force, Marine and National Guard veterans, McPhearson said. Members from the two veterans organizations were objecting to the cost of the Army celebration and staffing cutbacks at the VA.

Spitzberg said he had walked around a barricade after he saw fellow protesters accosted by police who had arrived in vehicles.

“I knew my brothers and sisters needed me there to help,” Spitzberg said, referring to the other protesters.

Police ordered him to stop and go back before he was arrested, he said.

“I’m not sure why, but I just kept going. I saw one lady had fallen down near the Capitol steps. I started moving toward the others with my walker,” Spitzberg said.

The veteran is 70% disabled from service-connected injuries to his head, neck and spine. He has chronic pain, a partially paralyzed left arm and a coordination disorder.

“I had to fill out a lot of paperwork and they took my mugshot at the [processing center] where I was held overnight,” said Spitzberg, who has since returned to Gainesville, Fla.

He said police gave him back his walker, which was not damaged during his arrest and detention.

Spitzberg said he obtained the walker with financial assistance from the VA.

“I rely on that thing. They [police] had to hold me up to keep me from falling without it,” he said. “I guess they were just following protocol.”