Thousands march in anti-Trump protests just days before former president returns to power

Demonstrators rallied in St. Paul on Saturday afternoon, braving single-digit temperatures to protest ahead of President-elect Donald Trump inauguration. 

Trump takes the oath of office on Monday. 

Similar rallies took place across the country, with the organizers behind the Women’s March in 2017 rebranding it as “The People’s March” to welcome a broader base.  

“It’s not just about women. It’s about all people,” said Sam O’Connell, who helped plan the St. Paul march. “Men are a part of this as well.” 

Organizers say more than 3,000 people attended. 

Indigenous dancers and drums led the march from a St. Paul College parking lot to the Minnesota State Capitol. The banner behind them read: “Fired Up? Follow Up!” — reflecting the march’s emphasis on getting people to take action. 

Several organizations set up tables inside the Capitol rotunda to connect attendees to volunteer opportunities and other efforts.

Lizz Winstead, co-creator of the Daily Show and founder of Abortion Access Front, attended the 2017 march and said people are drawn to movement building now. “They’ve seen what can happen,” she said. “They’re afraid of it getting worse. And I think they’re finally realizing that politicians won’t save us. We have to save ourselves.”

Similar marches also took place elsewhere in Minnesota. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., people also protested against Trump.

Jill Parrish of Austin, Texas, said she initially bought a plane ticket to Washington for what she expected to be Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’s inauguration. She wound up changing the dates to march in protest ahead of Trump’s swearing-in instead, saying the world should know that half of U.S. voters didn’t support Trump.

“Most importantly, I’m here to demonstrate my fear, about the state of our democracy,” Parrish said.

Demonstrators staged in squares around Washington ahead of the march, pounding drums and yelling chants under a slate-gray sky and in a chilly wind. Protesters then marched to the Lincoln Memorial for larger rally and fair, where organizations at the local, state and national level will host information tables.

They held signs with slogans including, “Save America” and “Against abortions? Then don’t have one” and “Hate won’t win.”

There were brief moments of tension between protesters and Trump supporters. The march paused briefly when a man in a red Make America Great Again hat and a green camo backpack walked into a line of demonstrators at the front. Police intervened and separated him from the group peacefully as marchers chanted “We won’t take the bait.”

As the protesters approached the Washington Monument, a small group of men in MAGA hats walking in the opposite direction appeared to draw the attention of a protest leader with a megaphone. The leader veered closer to the group and began chanting “No Trump, no KKK” through the megaphone. The groups were separated by high black fencing and police officers eventually gathered around.

Rick Glatz, of Manchester, New Hampshire, said he came to Washington for the sake of his four granddaughters: ”I’m a grandpa. And that’s why I’m marching.”

Minnesota high school teacher Anna Bergman wore her original pink pussyhat from her time in the 2017 Women’s March, a moment that captured the shock and anger of progressives and moderates at Trump’s first win.

With Trump coming back now, “I just wanted to be surrounded by likeminded people on a day like today,” Bergman said.