Support Free Iran rally draws crowd, competing chants at Monroe County Courthouse

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Staff report

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – January 12, 2026

A group of demonstrators gathered at the Monroe County Courthouse on Sunday afternoon for a “Support Free Iran” rally, waving Iranian flags and calling for change as reports of deadly unrest and communications shutdowns continue to emerge from inside Iran.

The event was advertised on a flyer as starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the courthouse in Bloomington. The flyer said that “for 47 years” Iranians have been denied basic rights and urged the world to “stand with them and help free Iran.” Protesters began assembling earlier, and by about midafternoon roughly three dozen people were present.

Several participants carried the pre-1979 Iranian tricolor with the lion-and-sun emblem, a symbol associated with the monarchy overthrown in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Handmade signs read “FREE IRAN” and “FREEDOM FOR IRAN,” and another sign referenced what the holder described as an information blackout, with the message: “If they silence your voice, I become your cry to the world,” followed by “#DigitalBlackout.”

At times, the rally’s message split into competing chants.

A friend of The Bloomingtonian — an Iranian journalist who speaks the language — said a portion of the crowd in a video captured by the Bloomingtonian chanted “Javid Shah,” which translates to “Long live the King,” signaling support for the former Pahlavi monarchy, now publicly represented by the shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi. One attendee held a poster featuring Reza Pahlavi.

The journalist said a lone counter-protester confronted the group and shouted phrases translated as curses aimed at both the Pahlavi dynasty and Iran’s current leadership — an exchange reflecting a broader divide among Iranians and the Iranian diaspora over what political future should follow the current Islamic Republic.

A demonstrator told The Bloomingtonian they were rallying because they believe people in Iran are being killed for protesting the regime, and because they say internet and phone disruptions have made it difficult to verify what is happening on the ground. Another participant said the goal is free, democratic and secular elections.

The demonstration drew honks from passing drivers, participants said, and unfolded in cold, windy conditions on the courthouse square.

Internationally, the situation in Iran has been described as volatile, with competing claims from officials and rights groups about casualties and arrests. CBS News reported Monday that Iran’s state media aired footage showing bodies at a morgue near Tehran, and that President Donald Trump said Iranian officials had contacted him seeking negotiations, while Iranian officials claimed the situation was “under total control.” The Bloomingtonian could not independently verify claims from inside Iran, particularly amid reported communications disruptions.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-protests-us-trump-death-toll-latest-araghchi-claims-situation-under-control

Sunday’s Bloomington rally — and the argument that unfolded within it — underscored a central reality: even among those united in opposing Iran’s current rulers, there is no single agreement on what should replace them.

The post Support Free Iran rally draws crowd, competing chants at Monroe County Courthouse first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.