Fired up by what they call an election cycle that left them insulted and their rights threatened, hundreds of thousands of women — and the men who support them — gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday as part of a nationwide act of solidarity to send a message to President Donald Trump’s administration.
An estimated 750,000 people brought that message to L.A.’s packed streets in a loud but peaceful stand for equal rights and a defense of civil liberties.
On the half-mile route from Pershing Square to City Hall, they held up signs, some with graphic images and language directed at Trump, who took the office on Friday. Others read “Love not hate makes America great!” and “We will resist.” As they made their way down Broadway, marchers chanted: “The people, united, will never be divided!”
• Photos: Women’s March Los Angeles
Many in the crowd wore pink, knitted cat-earred hats in protest of Trump’s explicit remarks about grabbing women that were caught on a video released before the November election.
Protesters, who gathered on a sunny, yet chilly weekend morning, also said they were there to stand against what they described as Trump’s insulting rhetoric toward undocumented immigrants, the disabled, Muslims and those who identify as LGBT, as well as his stance on health care and reproductive rights.
Ariella Fiore, 44, of Van Nuys took the Metro to Pershing Square and held up a sign that said “no I am not ovary-reacting.”
• Video: Women’s March Los Angeles protesters chant
Fiore, who described herself as bisexual and Latina, said it was important that she take part.
“In the last few months, I’ve felt kind of helpless, and I wanted to come down here to be with people who felt the way I did,” she said.
So many women descended on downtown L.A. for the march that subway trains were packed, and traffic officials warned motorists to expect significant delays.
• Related: Here’s which streets will be affected by Women’s March Los Angeles
Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Andrew Neiman said that at one point, protesters became landlocked at First Street and Broadway, among other intersections, because people came to downtown from all directions. Protesters filled First Street for five blocks, from City Hall at Spring Street to the Music Center, Neiman said.
“In my 30 years of being (with the department), this is the biggest crowd I’ve observed in downtown,” he said. “It was visually impressive.”
No arrests were reported, he said, and only a half-dozen emergency calls were made for minor injuries, but no one had to be transported.
Women’s March Los Angeles was among dozens of marches nationwide and in California. In Riverside, a loud but peaceful crowd of more than 4,000 people packed the city’s Main Street mall. More than 500 massed on the steps of Pasadena City Hall before joining the L.A. march. Thousands of people from throughout Orange County flocked to Santa Ana for the Orange County Women’s March. They also marched in Compton, San Bernardino and Ontario. Worldwide, marchers filled streets in countries including Spain, Greece, Australia, Italy and London.
The local protests were coordinated in unity with a massive march in Washington, D.C., where organizers there said they would “send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.”
On his new Twitter account, @POTUS, passed on to him by President Barack Obama, Trump made no mention of the marches to his more than 14 million followers. Instead, he wrote: “I am honored to serve you, the great American People, as your 45th President of the United States!”
Brianna Saraceno and her mother traveled from Pasadena to downtown L.A.’s march to express their worries about a Trump administration and to share their belief in diversity.
“I came out in solidarity with women, immigrants, LGBT, Black Lives Matter … all people against racism, sexism,” Saraceno said.
Her mom, Stephanie Scott, said she’s terrified of the Trump administration.
“People are very afraid to have an elected leader with no plan,” she said. “It’s very unnerving, and people are responding to that. It’s chilling. I never thought the country would be in this place.”
Friends Lyn Henley and Debra Silbar, both of Topanga Canyon, and Mogan Coffey of Santa Barbara came dressed as women from the suffrage movement.
“This is what we do as Americans,” Silbar said. “This is our patriotic duty to stand up and say there are certain freedoms that are important to us.”
Among those also joining in were celebrities, including Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Miley Cyrus.
Couple Philip and Claudia Dichter said they marched for civil rights and against the Vietnam War in the 1960s when they were students at UCLA. Back then, they ran from police during protests. There were no police chasing them on Saturday, Philip Dichter noted, but that didn’t make him feel any safer about America’s future.
“I can’t believe we have to do this again,” he said. “It’s not just about women’s rights or LGBT rights. I feel like our civil rights are under attack.”
Student Claudine Avalos, 25, from Riverside joined Women’s March Los Angeles because she opposes Trump.
“I think there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed as you can see from all the signs and posters here,” she said. “This is just a start. I really do think with this administration there is a lot at stake, not just for minority groups but for a large part of the population.”
Dianna Montiel of Los Angeles breast-fed her daughter in front of L.A. City Hall as crowds chanted next to her.
“I’m trying to show my daughter we’re not going to be submissive,” Montiel said. “I wasn’t born here. I grew up here since I was 9. Growing up was tough because people made fun of my accent. I want her to be aware we should never be less than we are. And I don’t want her to grow up saying and hearing the things (Trump) says.”
Staff writer Sandy Mazza contributed to this story.
