Demonstrators fan out into Tampa

More than a dozen protestors showed up at the corner of Dale Mabry and Gandy on Wednesday, holding anti-war signs and saying they're fed up by the nation's defense spending.

"I'm here to make a witness for peace," said demonstrator Frank Tedesco of Tampa. "This is to remind people that the United States is the most militaristic country on earth -- probably in the history of the world. And it's time to start changing our values."

The group, which included members of the Occupy movement and Veterans for Peace, also passed out stickers, with various numbers of casualties from the war in the Middle East.

"As much as I'd like to defend our troops and all, I know there's a lot of corruption in the Pentagon, a lot in the military, I worked in the military," Tedesco said.

Among them also was a monk, sitting cross-legged in the grass. He said nothing.

The group said they staged the protest in line with the Republican National Convention despite being away from the downtown area.

Police were on scene monitoring the situation in several cruisers, but protestors remained peaceful.