Women's March 2018 as it happened: Hundreds of thousands join nationwide protests against Trump

Marches are happening all over the world, including this one in Zurich, Switzerland (EPA)

Hundreds of thousands of women around America and the world took to the streets for the 2018 Women's March, a year after the first such event was held in opposition to newly elected US President Donald Trump.

Demonstrators surged into the streets in protests in American cities across the country, with parallel rallies in Europe, Asia and Africa turning the event into a global affair. Authorities estimated that well over 100,000 people attended the New York rally and that some 300,000 showed up in Los Angeles.

And while the inaugural 2017 marches functioned as a primal cry against Mr Trump's election victory, the 2018 iteration served in part as a nationwide political rally. Democratic elected officials and liberal celebrities urged attendees to channel their energy and frustration with Mr Trump's policies into November's midterm elections, where Democrats hope to wrest back control of Congress, governorships and state legislatures.

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After last year's event, a wave of women decided to run for elected office and the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct became a cultural phenomenon.

“We made a lot of noise,” said Elaine Wynn, an organiser. “But now how do we translate that noise into something concrete or fulfilling?”

Speakers this year made reference to the rolling backlash against sexual harassment and assault, with New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy relaying her experience with sexual violence and encouraging other women to tell their stories.

The marches occurred amid the battle over a US government shutdown, which has disrupted Mr Trump's celebrations of the anniversary of his inauguration. Protesters and supportive politicians linked the two, decrying Republican policies that helped lead to the shutdown — particularly Mr Trump's decision to nix an Obama-era program shielding young immigrants from deportation — and urging attendees to vote for a different agenda in the fall.

Linda Sarsour, one of the four organisers of last year's Washington march, told the Associated Press that Las Vegas was set to hold a major rally on Sunday because it's a strategic swing state that gave Hillary Clinton a narrow win in the presidential election and will have one of the most competitive Senate races in 2018.

Democrats believe they have a good chance of winning the seat held by embattled Republican Senator Dean Heller and weakening the Republicans' hold on the chamber, where they have a 51-49 seat advantage.

Organisers say Nevada is also a microcosm of larger national issues such as immigration and gun control after Las Vegas became the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in modern history.

Agencies contributed to this report

Key Points

• Marches take place amid a US government shutdown
• New marches are part of a campaign to help Democrats re-take control of Congress and eventually impeach President Donald Trump
• Millions were involved in the global protests last year

[20 January 2018 20:51 · Kristin Hugo]

According to the New York City mayor's office, more than 120,000 people attended the march in NYC today

[20 January 2018 21:05 · Kristin Hugo]

Californians held rallies from Sacramento to San Diego. Here are some scenes from Oakland, including a reference to the Margaret Atwood book/hit show “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which portrays a dystopian America that subjugates women in a theocracy:

https://twitter.com/0aklandish/status/954816866626646016

[20 January 2018 21:19 · Kristin Hugo]

Democrats are explicitly linking the women’s march to the government shutdown, casting both as outgrowths of opposing Mr Trump’s agenda:

[20 January 2018 21:36 · Kristin Hugo]

In Sacramento — the capital of California state government, which is dominated by Democrats and has been a fortress of opposition to Trump’s policies, attendance was high 

[20 January 2018 22:02 · Kristin Hugo]

Impeaching Donald Trump is an explicit goal for plenty of Democratic voters and even some of their representatives, and demonstrators in multiple state — including Dallas, in the heart of deeply Republican Texas — backed that aim.

[20 January 2018 22:18 · Kristin Hugo]

In New Jersey, the governor's wife has used the Women's March to offer her #MeToo story and send a message of solidarity.

New first lady Tammy Murphy, whose husband Phil was sworn in as governor recently — replacing Republican and Trump ally Chris Christie — said she was a victim of sexual violence while a student at the University of Virginia.

[20 January 2018 22:28 · Kristin Hugo]

As snow fell in Utah, rapper Common wowed the crowd by performing “The Day the Women Took Over”. Some choice lines:

“Now women get paid as much as men do”

“Toilet seats down? Thats a no-brainer”

[20 January 2018 22:48 · Kristin Hugo]

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told broadcaster KPCC that 300,000 people turned out to the march in America's second-largest city, a liberal enclave where Democratic voters heavily outnumber Republicans.

Actress Viola Davis addressed the crowd:

[20 January 2018 23:31 · Kristin Hugo]

In Seattle, members of the group Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women helped lead the march and spoke about the violence Native American women in particular face.

[20 January 2018 23:49 · Kristin Hugo]

A bit of irony flowing from the overlap between the Women’s March and a government shutdown: a museum honouring a women’s rights icon was shuttered