Participants in an anti-war demonstration display signs at 23rd and Louisiana streets near the U.S. Army Recruiting Office. The demonstrators marched from Central Junior High School on Saturday to protest the war and military recruiting centers.

Anti-war demonstrators who stand outside the Douglas County Courthouse each Saturday got some extra exercise this week.

Several joined a group of nearly 40 people who marched from Central Junior High School, 1400 Mass., to the U.S. Army Recruiting Office, 2233 La.

Two people led the march with a handmade banner that said “Neighbors Against War.”

Others carried peace flags, wore plastic jewelry with peace signs and carried anti-war messages.

“Recruiters are coming to our neighborhoods and our schools, where they’re not wanted,” said protester Pat Miller, before the group headed south along Massachusetts Street. “They must be confronted and made to stop.”

The march was organized by Kansas Mutual Aid, an anti-capitalist organization based in Lawrence. Group members said it was their fourth major demonstration.

Member Joe Carr wore an oversized puppet representing a military recruiter.

“We’re trying to send a clear message to the recruiters that we won’t tolerate them in our communities,” he said.

“It’s America, so that’s their right to protest,” said Staff Sgt. Alphonso Johnson, who works at the recruitment center.

Carr said he and other group members have been targeting military recruiters for more than two years.

“Most of us are banned … from the property, for going in there and telling them what we think,” he said.