Critics of US President-elect Donald Trump gathered in Washington, DC on Saturday to express support for progressive causes and to denounce his upcoming inauguration on Monday.
Protesters gathered in public squares around Washington ahead of the march, beating drums, chanting and holding signs in what was dubbed the “March of the People”.
Protesters marched to the downtown Lincoln Memorial for a large rally, where a fair was also set up for local, state and national level organizations to host information tables.
March attendees represented a wide range of progressive causes, from immigration and democracy to climate change, abortion rights, and Israel’s war in Gaza.
It comes as about 350 anti-Trump events are scheduled across the country over the weekend, which is a holiday weekend, as the annual commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. falls on Monday.
Successor to the ‘Women’s March’
It followed in the footsteps of a large demonstration that took place in Washington before Trump’s inauguration in March 2017, as many Americans strongly rejected his Electoral College victory.
This movement, known as the “Women’s March”, attracted more than 500,000 marchers in Washington, D.C. alone, while millions more participated in local marches across the country, among the largest single-day demonstrations in American history. became a.
Although the movement was renamed the “People’s March” to broaden the group’s appeal, this year’s turnout was much smaller, with fewer than the expected 50,000 participants.
Tight security to avoid clashes
The march took place under a heavy police presence to avoid clashes between protesters and Trump supporters.
Although the gathering was largely peaceful, tensions arose as many Trump supporters also came to Washington to celebrate his inauguration on Monday.
The march stopped briefly when a man wearing a red Make America Great Again hat and a green camo backpack walked to the front of the line of protesters.
Police intervened and peacefully removed them from the march as the protesters chanted “We will not take the bait.”
Mini Timmaraju, CEO of the advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All, told Reuters news agency that the crowd’s gathering was peaceful in the face of “some really terrible extremism that’s going to happen,” pointing to Trump’s second term.
JCG/SMS (Reuters, AP)
