Women's March on Washington organizers promise 200,000 to protest Trump

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Organizers are predicting 200,000 will participate in the Women's March on Washington the day after Donald Trump is inaugurated as president.

The National Park Service's list of First Amendment applications lists a permit for that size of a crowd on Jan. 21.

The group applied for the permit under the name "The Gathering for Justice." The application says the purpose is "to come together in solidarity to express to the new administration & congress that women's rights are human rights and our power cannot be ignored."

Teresa Shook, a retired attorney in Hawaii, started an event page on Facebook after the election on Nov. 8.

The next morning, 10,000 responded they would attend. Now 100,000 say they will participate in the march, which is set to begin at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Memorial and end at the White House at 5 p.m.

Organizers are working to raise the $1 million to $2 million necessary to pull off the march.

"I guess in my heart of hearts I wanted it to happen, but I didn't really think it would've ever gone viral," Shook, who is in her 60s, told The Washington Post.

Organizers say the march is not anti-Trump, but is a response to Trump's comments during the campaign about women, minorities and other groups with not only women invited.

"The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us -- women, immigrants of all statuses, those with diverse religious faiths, particularly Muslim, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native and indigenous people, black and brown people, people with disabilities, the economically impoverished and survivors of sexual assault," the organizers said.

Tamika Mallory, a veteran organizer and gun-control advocate, is one of the march's main organizers.

"We plan to make a bold and clear statement to this country on the national and local level that we will not be silent and we will not let anyone roll back the rights we have fought and struggled to get," she told The Washington Post.

Organizers settled on a new name: The Women's March on Washington, an echo of the 1963 March on Washington.

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem is a march co-sponsor. Celebrities Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee and Jessica Chastain say they plan to attend.

Several other protests and events are planned in Washington on Jan 20-21. The March for Life Education and Defense Fund 2017 requested a permit at the National Mall on Jan. 20 to "march for life, to build a culture of Life on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade" with 50,000 people anticipated.

The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, which has appeared at anti-LGBQT protests at funerals for military members, also applied for a permit for John Marshall Park, near the National Mall on Jan. 20 to "conduct a public demonstration/outdoor religious service regarding the judgement of God with respect to the dangers of promoting homosexuality, same-sex marriage and the filthy manner of life and idol-worshiping of the nation."

Bikers for Trump applied for a permit, also at the park on Jan. 20.