Anti-Trump protesters will begin arriving in Washington this weekend and canvass the nation’s capital through Inauguration Day.
Thousands of anti-Trump protesters are preparing to descend on the nation’s capital for Inauguration Day, setting up a combustible situation opposite the large gatherings of the president-elect’s fans.
On Saturday, the Rev. Al Sharpton will lead protesters from the National Sylvan Theater traveling along Independence Avenue toward West Potomac Park opposite the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The National Park Service, which issues permits for gatherings of more than 25 people in many public spaces in the District, has granted Sharpton’s group a permit for 25,000 marchers. Among those marching are Democratic Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Brenda Lawrence of Michigan and Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
The “Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparation” also will hold a rally and march on Saturday at Freedom Plaza, according to a permit issued by the National Park Service that has allotted space for 600 people.
The list of groups that have submitted First Amendment permit applications with the National Park Service to demonstrate during the Inauguration Day festivities includes a diverse range of ardent Trump supporters and vocal anti-Trump liberals.
The Westboro Baptist Church has a permit to demonstrate at John Marshall Park located along the parade route on Inauguration Day, the same site where 5,000 Bikers for Trump are hoping to gather pending a National Park Service decision. Meanwhile, the liberal ANSWER Coalition’s permit for about 10,000 anti-Trump protesters a few blocks away at Freedom Plaza—also along the inaugural parade route—already has been granted for a time period encompassing the inauguration. The ANSWER Coalition acronym stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.
Several other left-leaning groups, including those identified as “Real Progressives,” the “Progressive Independent Party,” and “People’s Power Assembly” have all applied for permits for thousands of people to demonstrate in the nation’s capital.
But the most chaos caused anywhere on Inauguration Day may come from #DisruptJ20 protesters led by anarchists who are looking to spoil Trump’s celebration. The group has several events planned for the week of the inauguration, including a queer dance party in front of Mike Pence’s residence in D.C.’s Chevy Chase neighborhood on Wednesday, a protest outside the “Deploraball” inaugural ball at the National Press Club on Thursday and several more confrontational actions on Inauguration Day.
The #DisruptJ20 protesters are looking to shut down entrances into D.C., on Inauguration Day from the south. The protesters are also planning to blockade checkpoints to the inaugural parade route and the inauguration itself, organizers announced on Thursday.
Two marches organized by the #DisruptJ20 protesters will occur on Inauguration Day. One march will depart Columbus Circle at noon and head toward McPherson Square, a few blocks away from the White House.
A second “anti-capitalist” march, which has not received a permit from the National Park Service, would start from the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 10 a.m. and go wherever it pleases. The bridge is one of the only open access points for the public to enter the city from Virginia, meaning protesters could ruin the commute for those arriving from Virginia.
“We are definitely worried about our safety and all of the people’s safety who are going to be protesting with us,” said Samantha Miller, a #DisruptJ20 organizer, at Thursday’s press conference. “I’m not willing to back down and say we shouldn’t protest because the right wing is scary or because racists might be violent, because that lets them win.”
On Inauguration Day evening, the anarchists plan to lead #DisruptJ20 protesters to wreck several of the inaugural balls. The protesters will be coordinating their actions on social media using #BallCrusher.
The day after the inauguration, the Women’s March on Washington is expected to draw more than 100,000 people in opposition to Trump. A permit granted to organizers of the group allocated space for 200,000 people “to come together in solidarity to express to the new administration and Congress that women’s rights are human rights and our power cannot be ignored.”
But infighting among some of the women’s march participants has led some to question whether the actual number of participants may drop below original expectations. Racial fault lines among the women planning on demonstrating have caused a few to cancel their plans, according to the New York Times.
The American Constitution Society also plans to demonstrate the day after the inauguration, and the National Park Service has granted them a permit for 50,000 people to demonstrate at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
With Trump’s inauguration less than a week away, the colorful mix of Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters arriving in D.C., may set the tone for how politically disparate Americans will live side-by-side under the new regime.
