The Latest: Chaotic scene as crowd moves toward White House

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Women’s March on Washington and associated protests around the world (all times EST):

3:20 a.m.

The scene in Washington is getting chaotic as some protesters at the Women’s March proceed toward the White House and the Ellipse.

Seas of people are blocking traffic as they walk from the National Mall.

On one street, a police car trying to move got stuck in the crowd. Marchers surrounded a float that had several supporters of President Donald Trump on board and chanted, “shame.”

Other marchers were shouting “black lives matter” and “my body, my choice” as they moved along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House.

On the other side of the Mall, rally-goers are headed home. The line to get on the escalator at the Judiciary Square Metro station is half a city block long.

___

3:10 p.m.

People arrested in Washington on Inauguration Day are being processed through the city’s court system.

Interim D.C. police chief Peter Newsham said Friday that 217 people were being charged with rioting.

A first group of 10 men appeared Saturday in Superior Court just before 3 p.m., and their lawyer entered a not guilty plea on their behalf. A judge released all of them on the condition they not get re-arrested in the District of Columbia.

The arrests Friday came after some protesters created chaos in Washington. Windows of downtown businesses were smashed, and police deployed pepper spray and “sting balls” against the crowd.

On Saturday, a group outside the court chanted “let them go.”

___

3 p.m.

Madonna says it took “this horrific moment” of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president to wake up the United States.

The pop singer used several obscenities during a speech at the Women’s March on Washington to emphasize her opposition to Trump. Her comments were carried live on cable television.

She says Saturday’s march means “that we are far from the end” and it is the start of a revolution to fight for the right to be free and equal.

Madonna says like-minded Americans need to join together to make it “through this darkness” and show that “we are not afraid, that we are not alone.”

___

2:50 p.m.

The tens of thousands of people who turned out for the women’s march in Chicago have spilled into the city’s downtown streets.

Officially, organizers canceled the march portion of the Chicago rally due to overwhelming turnout.

But after the event concluded in Grant Park, people began flooding nearby streets, chanting and waving signs protesting President Donald Trump.

A massive turnout also affected the plans at the march in Washington, where so many people packed the original route along the south side of the National Mall that organizers couldn’t lead a formal trek toward White House.

Interim D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham says on Independence Avenue, “The crowd stretches so far that there’s no room left to march.”

Instead, march organizers directed the crowd to take a new route to meet up at the Ellipse, a grassy area between the Washington Monument and the White House.

___

2:20 p.m.

Organizers of the Women’s March on Washington are encouraging attendees to march on their own to the grassy Ellipse near the White House.

The original plan had been for organizers to lead a formal march to the Ellipse, with marchers walking down Independence Avenue along the south side of the National Mall.

But city officials said Saturday that because that route is filled with protesters, a formal march is no longer possible. The crowd of several hundred thousand is still expected to head to the Ellipse.

Organizers are now telling rally-goers from the stage that they should head north toward Constitution Avenue, which runs along the north side of the Mall.

They can then make a right at the Washington Monument to reach the Ellipse.

___

1:20 p.m.

A massive turnout at the Women’s March on Washington has forced a change of plans. With the entire planned route filled with hundreds of thousands of protesters, organizers can’t lead a formal march toward the White House.

That’s according to a District of Columbia official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official isn’t authorized to speak for the march.

The official says that shortly before 1 p.m., people were standing along the entire march route.

While there will be no formal march led from the protest stage near the Capitol, the crowd is still expected to move toward the Ellipse, an area of the National Mall in front of the White House.

The official says there could be more than half a million people on the Mall, but it’s difficult to estimate because low cloud cover is making aerial photographs impossible.

—Ben Nuckols

___

12:40 p.m.

So many people have turned out for the Women’s March in Chicago that organizers have cancelled their plans to march through the city’s downtown.

Instead, they’ll extend the ongoing rally on the city’s lakefront.

Organizers say far more people than they were initially expecting are at the demonstration in Grant Park along Lake Michigan, and overflow areas are being used.

They say the planned march through downtown Chicago had to be canceled due to public safety concerns, but that the rally has been extended until 12:30 p.m. Central time.

Protesters are still arriving at the rally, many with signs critical of President Donald Trump.

___

12:05 p.m.

President Donald Trump is getting a view of the protesters in town for the Women’s March from the window of his limo.

Trump’s motorcade was on its way back to the White House from a prayer service when he passed several prominent groups of protesters.

As he crossed one intersection, cars started honking loudly.

Some of the protesters held up signs that likened women’s rights to human rights. It’s a nod to a famous speech that former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton gave in China as first lady.

Other signs read “We stand with Planned Parenthood.”

___

11:45 a.m.

Figures from transportation officials in Washington suggest more people may be on the National Mall for the women’s march than came for President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, 275,000 people had taken trips on the city’s subway system.

On Inauguration Day, 193,000 trips had been taken as of that time, and the rail system opened an hour earlier that day, at 4 a.m.

Saturday’s ridership figures were more than eight times a normal Saturday and busier than most weekdays.

In addition, some 1,800 buses were registered to park in the city. Greyhound reported adding more buses from New York. And a commuter rail system in Washington added five times its normal capacity to help deal with the crowds.

___

11:35 a.m.

Filmmaker Michael Moore says he’s at the Women’s March on Washington “to vow to end the Trump carnage.”

Moore is riffing on a phrase from President Donald Trump’s inaugural address. Trump said on Friday that he would stop the “American carnage.”

Moore is urging attendees to call their members of Congress every day to protest Trump’s policies. He says, “we have to get busy.”

Moore says those concerned about Trump should join organizations like Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and environmental groups. He says he joined Planned Parenthood on Saturday morning.

___

11:25 a.m.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser says the best thing the federal government led by Donald Trump can do is “leave us alone.”

Bowser says she’s speaking at the Women’s March on Washington on behalf of all female elected officials. She says women are more harshly and unfairly criticized at every level of government.

Bowser is appearing at the rally wearing a pointy-eared “pussyhat.” She says “we need every woman and every man to speak up for us.”

Bowser says in the era of President Trump, Americans must stand up for immigration rights and LGBT rights. She says they also must fight for climate protection and public education.

___

11:15 p.m.

Getting to the Women’s March on Washington and its sister events around the country is proving a challenge.

Before President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday morning, Metro subway officials said only two of its parking garages and lots were at more than 60 percent capacity.

On Saturday, many garages and lots at the ends of subway lines were at or near capacity.

In New York, Greyhound had to scramble to get extra buses and drivers for the 3:45 a.m. departure to Washington after a crush of last-minute ticket purchases.

A spokeswoman says they ended up with a total of 18 extra buses, and some couldn’t leave until 6:30 a.m. because there weren’t enough drivers on site.

In Chicago, trains from the city’s suburbs to a downtown march are packed. Officials added trains to their Saturday morning schedule in anticipation of higher-than-usual ridership, but passengers are still reporting standing-room-only trains and crowded platforms.

Some trains are so full they are bypassing scheduled stops.

___

10:45 a.m.

“Mr. Trump, you are no Berliner.”

That’s the message that hundreds of protesters in the German capital are carrying on signs as they rally outside the U.S. Embassy in solidarity with the Women’s March in Washington.

The demonstrators are peacefully protesting Trump’s presidency on Pariser Platz, next to the landmark Brandenburg Gate.

Other signs include slogans such as “No to sexism,” ”Women’s rights are human rights,” and “Our bodies, our minds, our power.”

One of the protesters is Katie Berdett — an American living in Berlin. She says she fears the loss of women’s rights under Trump and “for the democracy of our country.”

She says, “But at the same time I’m hopeful because there are so many people standing up and rising up and taking part in these demonstrations.”

President John F. Kennedy gave a famous speech in Berlin in 1963 when he said he considered himself “a Berliner” — a remark that helped keep up morale in the Western part of the then-divided city.

___

10:20 a.m.

Actress America Ferrera says “every single one of us” is under attack by President Donald Trump.

Ferrera is speaking at the start of a rally that is opening the Women’s March on Washington. She says people are gathered in the capital and across the country to say to Trump, “We refuse.”

The “Ugly Betty” star says the marchers reject demonization of Muslims. She says they also refuse to give up their “right to safe and legal abortions.”

Ferrera says the U.S. won’t ask LGBT Americans to go backward and won’t go from a nation of immigrants to “a nation of ignorance.”

___

10:10 a.m.

Hillary Clinton is praising those attending the Women’s March on Washington.

The former Democratic nominee for president is thanking attendees on Twitter for “standing, speaking and marching for our values.” She says it’s as “important as ever.”

Clinton is also reviving her campaign slogan and says in the tweet she believes “we’re always Stronger Together.”

Clinton’s show of support for the march comes a day after she attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration at the U.S. Capitol.

___

9:40 a.m.

A city official in Washington says the turnout estimate for the Women’s March on the National Mall now stands at 500,000 people. That’s more than double the initial predictions.

Kevin Donahue is Washington’s deputy mayor for public safety and justice. He says on Twitter that organizers of the march are increasing the turnout estimate to half a million.

There were early signs across Washington that Saturday’s crowds could top those that gathered on Friday to watch President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Metro subway stations and train cars are full in many locations, while ridership on Friday was well off the numbers from Barack Obama’s first inaugural.

The march’s National Park Service permit estimated a turnout of 200,000, but the District of Columbia’s homeland security chief had previously predicted turnout would be higher.

___

8:55 a.m.

Thousands are massing on the National Mall for the Women’s March, and they’re gathering, too, in spots around the world.

A couple hundred people rallied in the Czech capital of Prague on Saturday in support of the march.

In Wenceslas Square in freezing conditions, they waved the portraits of President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as well banners that read: “This is just the beginning.”

Organizer Johanna Nejedlova says: “We are worried about the way some politicians talk, especially during the American elections.” Similar rallies unfolded in London, Berlin, Rome and other cities.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, protesters in the march’s trademark pink woolen hats met outside the U.S. Embassy. Says participant Sherin Khankan, “An alternative to the growing hatred must be created.”

At a rally in Stockholm, Sweden, organizer Lotta Kuylenstjerna says “we do not have to accept his message,” in a reference to Trump.

___

8:30 a.m.

Rose Wurm got on her bus at 7 a.m. in Hagerstown, Maryland, ready for the ride to Washington and the Women’s March.

The 64-year-old retired medical secretary from Bedford, Pennsylvania, carried two signs. One asks President Donald Trump to stop tweeting. Another asks him to fix ex-President Barack Obama’s health care law, rather than get rid of it.

Wurm is riding one of the roughly 1,800 buses that have registered to park in Washington on Saturday. That translates into nearly 100,000 people coming for the march just by bus.

One company has buses coming from more than 200 cities in 26 states. It’s using school buses to bring people to the march from Maryland.

___

8 a.m.

Look to the National Mall in Washington for lots of bright pink hats and signs that say “less fear more love” and “the future is female.”

Thousands of women are set to make their voices heard on the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Organizers of the Women’s March on Washington expect more than 200,000 people to attend the gathering.

Other protests are expected in other U.S. cities and around the world.

Rena Wilson came to Washington for the march on Friday from Charlotte, North Carolina. She says she hopes to send the message to Trump that they’re “not going anywhere.”

___

3:05 a.m.

The mission statement of the Women’s March on Washington says event participants are “hurting and scared” as Donald Trump takes office — and they want a greater voice for women in political life.

Organizers of Saturday’s rally and march expect more than 200,000 people to come out — and that number could rival Trump’s swearing-in ceremony Friday.

The event follows a chaotic day in the nation’s capital when protesters set fires and hurled bricks in a series of clashes with police.

More than 200 people were arrested.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that in the 11:35 a.m. item, Moore, not Trump, was the speaker.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.