Large crowds of women, many wearing bright pink knit hats, poured into downtown Washington by bus, train and car on Saturday for a march in opposition to US President Donald Trump only a day after the Republican took office.
The Washington event was expected to be the largest of a series of marches across the world in cities including Sydney, London, Tokyo and New York to criticize the new president's often angry, populist rhetoric.
The flood of people stressed the city's Metro subway system, with riders reporting enormous crowds and some end-of-line stations temporarily turning away riders when parking lots filled and platforms became too crowded.
Trump has angered many liberal Americans with comments seen as demeaning to women, Mexicans and Muslims, and worried some abroad with his inaugural vow on Friday to put "America First" in his decision making.
On Friday, the nation's capital was rocked by violent protests against the businessman-turned-politician, with black-clad anti-establishment activists smashing windows, setting vehicles on fire and fighting with riot police who responded with stun grenades.
One of the groups that organized Friday's protests sent a call to members to return to the streets after the women's march ended.
The protests illustrated the depth of the anger in a deeply divided country that is still recovering from the scarring 2016 campaign season. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first woman nominated for president by a major US party.
Washington subway trains and platforms were packed with people. The Metro sent a service alert warning of "system-wide delays due to extremely large crowds." At least one station was temporarily closed to new passengers because of the crowds backed up on the platform.
Organizers said they expected several hundred thousand people to attend.
A disparate lineup of organizations including reproductive health provider Planned Parenthood, gun-control group Moms Demand Action and Emily's List, which promotes female candidates for office, sent large contingents to the event.
Many participants wore knitted pink cat-eared "pussyhats," a reference to Trump's claim in the 2005 video that was made public weeks before the election that he grabbed women by the genitals.
The march spotlights the fierce opposition Trump faces as he takes office, a period that is typically more of a honeymoon for a new president.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found Trump had the lowest favorability rating of any incoming president since the 1970s.
Women gave a host of reasons for marching, ranging from inspiring other women to run for office to protesting Trump's plans to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which among other things requires health insurers to cover birth control.
REUTERS