Staff photo / Ashley Fox Boardman resident Diana Shaheen, left, and Hattie Wilkins, center, of Youngstown, are joined by other protesters Saturday afternoon in Boardman. The demonstration was organized Friday night in response to a recent attack that killed an Iranian general.

BOARDMAN — Bundled to stay warm as they held signs, a group of protesters braved the rainy weather Saturday.

The anti-war protest was held by Our Revolution Mahoning Valley in response to a U.S. airstrike early Friday near a Baghdad airport that killed Tehran’s top general and the architect of its interventions across the Middle East.

“We’re out here protesting about the war Trump is trying to get us into,” said Hattie Wilkins, a Youngstown resident and Bernie Sanders supporter.

The group met Friday evening and after one member said she was going to protest, others said they would show up, too, Wilkins said.

At one point between 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday, about 10 people stood at the corner of Market Street and U.S. Route 224, holding signs, sometimes chanting and waving to motorists as they snapped photos at red lights.

Wilkins said protests are a way to educate others on war. “For one thing, it’s usually the poor people that are fighting. Rich people don’t join (the military forces).”

She added she feels if leaders have an issue with each other, they need to resolve that problem on their own without involving others.

“If the leaders want to go to war, the two leaders should get out there in the rink and fight it out instead of involving all these innocent people,” Wilkins said.

Motorists largely were honking horns and giving a “thumbs up” in support of the protest, with a few others yelling their support for President Trump.

One woman, Wilkins said, even stopped by and asked to take her photo with the protesters. “That made me feel so special because it’s a total stranger” supporting others, Wilkins said.

Among the protesters was Boardman resident Diana Shaheen, who has a background in protesting in the area.

Protesting for peace since 2003, Shaheen said she doesn’t see a point to war.

“I believe in peace,” she said. “I think war is brought about by the powers that be, and I think that the common man, the common human being, is the person that suffers.”

Wilkins noted Trump hasn’t fought a war, as he hasn’t served in the military, so he doesn’t understand what goes into the process. “It’s not fair to the rest of us,” she said.

When Wilkins first heard of the airstrike, she said the first thing that went through her mind was that the incident was “just a way to take people’s minds off the impeachment proceedings.”

It also concerned her that Trump didn’t seem to consult with Congress. “He just did this stuff all on his own.”

Should Trump, who is running for re-election this year, win, Wilkins said: “We’re going to have to fight him tooth and nail. Isn’t that what they did to Barack (Obama)?”

Approximately 5,200 American troops are based in Iraq, training Iraqi forces and helping to combat Islamic State militants.