Washington, D.C. is bracing for the presidential inauguration to move indoors as freezing temperatures arrive over the weekend. While the cold may deter some protesters, law enforcement and organizers told ABC News that several protests and major events are still planned throughout the weekend.
One of the largest events of the weekend is the People’s March, which will take place on Saturday. The march, a feminist-led progressive movement, aims to bring attention to reproductive freedoms just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration. The event is a rebranding from the 2017 Women’s March to bring attention to key issues including LGBT and reproductive rights, D.C. statehood and environmental issues. Organizers expect more than 50,000 attendees, according to permits filed with the National Park Service.
Tamika Middleton, managing director of Women’s March, noted that the march is a group effort.
“We all march for different reasons, but we march for the same cause: to defend our rights and our future,” she said.
“As Trump assumes the presidency in January, we are gathering to mobilize our collective power and stand against his efforts to roll back our rights and freedoms,” Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of Popular Democracy in Action, said in a statement.
“This is the first step in a long, renewed fight for a more perfect union,” Mejia added.
In this Jan. 21, 2017 file photo, protesters are seen marching on Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women’s March on Washington.
Noam Galai/WireImage via Getty Images, FILE
Although the People’s March is expected to proceed as planned, some weekend event organizers have adjusted plans in response to below freezing temperatures forecast for Inauguration Day. Several outdoor ceremonies have already been moved indoors due to cold weather concerns.
CODEPINK, a grassroots peace and social justice movement, is planning several protests in Washington and New York, including an appearance at the People’s March and a theatrical protest in Washington that emphasizes peace and reallocating war funds to meet public needs.
The organization said that “these events offer a contrast to the anti-immigrant, anti-climate justice, and militaristic rhetoric the incoming administration brings.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton will lead a series of events in Washington and New York marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which coincides with Inauguration Day this year.
“On the eve of Donald Trump’s second term, we need to be clear as day: Dr. King did not march, preach and lay down his life so that we would one day again retreat into the shadows of hatred and division,” Sharpton said in a statement.
“The man who has made it his mission to suppress the vote, demonize diversity and roll back our rights will take the oath again, and this moment demands that we be louder, stronger and more determined than ever to keep Dr. King’s dream alive,” he added.
Thousands of folding chairs are set out ahead of the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 12, 2025, in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
With several large-scale events happening in the district, no credible threats have been posed to the nation’s capital. Twenty-five thousand law enforcement officials, including 4,000 officers from around the country and 7,800 National Guard members and airmen from Washington, D.C., along with 40 other states and territories, are expected to arrive in the district on Saturday and Sunday. The National Guard will serve in a support role and will assist in crowd management, traffic control and emergency response services.
Members of the U.S. military on stage during the rehearsal at the U.S. Capitol ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration, Jan. 12, 2025, in Washington.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
“The Secret Service’s number one priority, along with our law enforcement partners, is the safety and security of our protectees and members of the public attending this historic event,” U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool said in a statement on Thursday.
Thirty miles of anti-scale fencing, the most ever used for a National Security Special Event, will be deployed for the inauguration. Drones, police officers on rooftops and tactical teams will be part of a full slate of visible and invisible security measures in Washington this weekend.
