(The Center Square) – Nationwide protests and demonstrations opposing President-elect Donald Trump on Inauguration Day are expected, with organizations across the country planning marches, rallies, and other events to express political and social opposition.
While a ceremonial transfer of power, Inauguration Day has become a focal point for public dissent by offering a stage for people to voice their approval or opposition to the incoming administration and its agenda through the simultaneous celebration of democracy and the exercise of free speech.
Historically, protests have long reflected the nation’s political divides. Organizations such as CODEPINK, a feminist organization advocating for peace and human rights, have announced a national mobilization titled “WE FIGHT BACK!” scheduled for Jan 20.
The events are planned in multiple cities, including Washington, D.C., New York, California and Texas.
The organization’s website states, “On the days around Inauguration Day, January 18-20th, people will come together throughout the country to demand a future that centers the needs of the people over the interests of the wealthy elite. With voices raised for workers’ rights, immigrant rights, and environmental justice, we will call for an end to the genocide in Gaza, the U.S. war machine, and the rule of billionaires.”
Those demonstrations coincide with the “Peoples March on Washington,” organized by civil rights and social justice groups, including the Women’s March and Planned Parenthood, and is expected to have around 50,000 attendees.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger says that nearly a quarter million people, including demonstrators, are expected at Trump’s inauguration.
“The biggest threat, I think, for all of us remains the lone actor,” Manger said Monday. “Just in the past week, while President Carter was lying in state, we had two lone actors show up at the Capitol: one trying to bring in knives and a machete; another one who was trying – what I believe – to disrupt the proceedings by setting their car on fire down in the peace circle area.”
“Capitol Police were able to interdict these folks before they had a chance to do any harm. But that threat of the lone actor remains the biggest justification for us being at this heightened state of alert throughout the next week.”
In 2017, Trump’s inauguration sparked widespread demonstrations, including the women’s march. This became one of the largest single-day protests in U.S. history, drawing participation nationwide, covering women’s rights, immigration reform, and racial equality.
Similarly, in 2001, protests erupted surrounding George W. Bush’s inauguration following a contentious Supreme Court decision that resolved the presidential election in his favor against Al Gore.
One clear thing is that as inauguration day nears, Washington, D.C. anticipates diverse groups, each voicing their perspectives on the nation’s future.