How Many Attended the Women’s March on Washington?

Protesters gather during the Women’s March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Getty)

More than two million women and men from around the world were expected to take part in the Women’s March, including seven continents and more than 600 individual sister marches. But it was all connected to the biggest march: the Women’s March located in Washington D.C. The march began in the morning the day after President Trump was officially inaugurated as President of the United States. Exactly how many people attended the march in D.C.? Although an exact count isn’t known, early estimates may indicate as many as 500,000. The turnout could be record-breaking.

Here’s what we know so far.

The National Park Service never gives official estimates for D.C. turnouts any more, so turnout estimates aren’t an exact science. The National Park Service stopped giving official estimates ever since a dispute about how many attended a Million Man March in 1995. The Park Service was threatened with a lawsuit when they estimated 400,000 showed up to the Million Man March, while organizers believed that one million were there. After that, they stopped publicly releasing estimates. Now, estimates are given by law enforcement officials or federal officials, or organizers.

A city official from Washington estimated that the turnout is at 500,000, The Los Angeles Times reported. The permit originally given for the event had estimated 200,000, but even the D.C. homeland security chief said he thought more than that would turn out.

The estimated turnout, if it grows even more, could be record-breaking. The largest turnout in D.C. is largely considered to be an anti-Vietnam protest on November 15, 1969, which had a turnout of 500,000 to 600,000. It was the first nationwide moratorium march to end the war. Millions of people around the world demonstrated in solidarity. As stated earlier, some believe the Million Man March had an even bigger turnout of close to 800,000 or more, but the official number given was 400,000.

It’s very possible that today’s Women’s March could match the anti-Vietnam protest in D.C., depending on the final estimate and whether the Vietnam protest was closer to 600,000 or 500,000 in its final numbers. (The estimate varies depending on which source you reference.)

However, the Women’s March won’t be the largest demonstration in U.S. history. Others were bigger. On June 12, 1982, an anti-nuclear march in New York City attracted an estimated one million people.

A March for Women’s Lives in April 2004 in D.C. had an attendance of 500,000 to 1.15 million, depending on your source. Organizers claimed over a million while AP estimated 500,000 to 800,000. A Million Women March in Philadelphia on October 25, 1997 had 300,000 to 1 million participants, depending on the source. And a D.C. march in April 1993 for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights had 300,000 to 1 million participants. Organizers claimed 1 million but police said the numbers were closer to 300,000.

To see photos of the Women’s March, see our story below.

Women’s March on Washington: Photos From D.C. & Around the World

The Women’s March on Washington could be the biggest D.C. march in history. See photos and stories about the #womensmarch here.

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Stephanie Dube Dwilson is a news, entertainment & science/tech contributor to Heavy. She’s also a featured cat blogger, runs a post-apocalyptic blog, and is a guest writer for a number of publications. In her spare time, Stephanie writes screenplays and novels about sci-fi mysteries. You can follow her on Twitter at @StephanieDube or contact her by email here.
January 21, 2017 1:22 pm