Scenes From the People’s March

As I described yesterday, the rebranded Women’s March is taking place in Washington, DC and some other cities around the country today. The original Women’s March brought out hundreds of thousands of protesters but this year’s People’s March has less lofty goals. 

The march, two days before Inauguration Day, is a joint effort among civil rights, racial and social justice, and reproductive health organizations. Organizers hope that the march can inspire people who have who felt exhausted and resigned and that protesters can turn their passions, outrage and fears into collective opposition…

“If the prerequisite were that we shouldn’t get out or shouldn’t take action … unless it can be bigger than the biggest thing that ever was, no one would ever take action,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the executive director of Women’s March.

The gathering in DC was set to start at 10 am followed by a march to the Lincoln Memorial starting at 11 am. There is already some video on X showcasing the event. One focus of the march is abortion rights.

The People’s March in Washington D.C. is set to begin. Protesters focusing on LGBTQ and abortion rights are gathered at Franklin Park.

The groups included are the Women’s March, Gender Liberation Movement, and Generation Common Good.@TPUSA | @BrandonDrey pic.twitter.com/znSJmYozGH

— FRONTLINES (@FrontlinesTPUSA) January 18, 2025

People on the left are celebrating the size of the crowd but it’s hard to actually get a sense of it. In this video clip of Franklin Park, for instance, I see maybe 1,000 people. That’s not nothing on a very frigid morning in DC but it’s not a massive turnout either.

BREAKING: Thousands of people are marching in Washington D.C at the People’s March against Trump. They are chanting “we will not go back”. pic.twitter.com/1BZW3xlVah

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 18, 2025

This video from the same spot is longer. Near the end we get a walk around the crowd and it’s really not that packed. There’s a lot of space between people toward the back.

LIVE: People’s March – formerly Women’s March – opposes Trump in Washington DC https://t.co/fcGmqVNGQP

— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) January 18, 2025

One reporter on scene estimated several hundred people in this spot but this was a bit earlier.

On a slightly drizzly day, several hundred people are gathered at Franklin Park, one of three kickoff points to converge at the Lincoln Memorial, to demonstrate at the People’s March.

Reporting for The Hill pic.twitter.com/lHvjec4x7s

— Caroline Vakil (@CarolineVakil) January 18, 2025

To be fair, this was only one of three initial gatherings which were all supposed to meet up for the march. So there are more people. Here’s the crowd at Farragut Square. Again, this looks like maybe 1,000 people to me.

A group gathers in Farragut Square before the start of the People’s March, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. pic.twitter.com/ZKIGPh1emA

— CSB News USA (@csbnewsus) January 18, 2025

Groups like Rising Majority, Popular Democracy, and Democratic Socialists of America are gathered at Farragut Square in Washington D.C. for the People’s March.@TPUSA | @MonicaPaigeTV pic.twitter.com/vSwKuwDFed

— FRONTLINES (@FrontlinesTPUSA) January 18, 2025

Lots of energy directed at Trump of course.

“F**k Trump!” and “Trans Lives Matter!” Crowds Chant as they protest Trump’s Upcoming Innaguaration in Washington DC during People’s March. pic.twitter.com/XXv6lJHk6d

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) January 18, 2025

At some point they started marching and chanting.

People’s March attendees chant “f*ck you fascists” pic.twitter.com/NuYpLw7o5T

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 18, 2025

This is one of the best shots of the crowd size.

Thousands marching against Trump in Washington DC as part of the “Peoples March”

Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2
[email protected] to license pic.twitter.com/zDXpAfFUcD

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) January 18, 2025

Eventually they all converged at the Lincoln Memorial. 

Demonstrators congregate near the Lincoln Memorial as they wait for speakers to kick things off pic.twitter.com/5Mj8KZ0R0o

— Caroline Vakil (@CarolineVakil) January 18, 2025

There’s a video here that shows the crowd. 

Apparently, there is a protest at the Lincoln Memorial pic.twitter.com/6OUPi0aU3v

— Kitana (@KitanaUponUs) January 18, 2025

Of course protest organizers always multiply the crowd count by 5-10 so I’m sure they’ll claim it was a huge success. It’s clearly several thousand people but I don’t think it’s the 25,000 they were hoping for much less the 50,000 mentioned in some articles. Whatever the crowd size actually is, It’s certainly a long way from the reported 500,000 who turned up in 2017.