Washington sees fresh protests as Trump prepares for second term

WASHINGTON: Thousands of individuals, predominantly women, took to streets in Washington on Saturday to protest the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, with many of them wearing pink hats symbolising the much larger demonstration held during his first inauguration in 2017.

In Franklin Park, one of three kickoff locations for the "People's March" that will wind through downtown, protesters gathered in light rain to rally for gender justice and bodily autonomy.

Other protesters gathered at two other parks also near the White House, with one group focused on democracy and immigration and another on local Washington issues, before heading toward the march's final gathering at the Lincoln Memorial.

Police cars, with sirens on, drove between the kickoff locations.

Protests against Trump's inauguration are much smaller than in 2017, in part because the US women's rights movement fractured after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

Vendors hawked buttons that said #MeToo and “Love trumps hate,” and sold People's March flags for $10. Demonstrators carried posters that read “Feminists v. Fascists” and “People over politics.”

“It’s really healing to be here with all of you today in solidarity and togetherness, in the face of what’s going to be some really horrible extremism,” Mini Timmaraju, the head of advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All, told the crowd as events kicked off.

She said the good news was that abortion rights remain popular despite Trump’s win, leading a chant of “We are the majority!”

Reproductive groups joined civil rights, environment and other women's groups in organizing the march against Trump and his agenda as he prepares to take office on Monday. 

Trump won all seven battleground states and the popular vote in November's election.