Smaller crowds return for march

Whether it was stormy weather, reports of controversy or the simple waning of interest over time, the third annual Women’s March events Saturday attracted much smaller crowds than in years past.

This year

In Washington, in a frigid marble plaza only blocks from the White House, early attendees seemed to be outnumbered by barkers hawking T-shirts and buttons.

“I’m disappointed. It’s definitely not the turnout I was looking for,” said Peggy Baron, 53, a lawyer from Dublin, Ohio, who said the first Washington march two years ago had been “wall-to-wall women.”

Crowd size

Organizers submitted a permit application estimating up to 500,000 participants even though it was widely expected that the turnout would be smaller. The original plan was to gather on the National Mall. But with the forecast calling for snow and freezing rain and the National Park Service no longer plowing snow because of the shutdown, organizers on Thursday changed the march’s location and route.

The mood among the marchers a now-familiar mix of sister-power camaraderie and anger toward President Trump and the power structure.

One sign declared, “Strong women only fear weak men.” Another stated, “MOOD: Still pretty mad about Kavanaugh.”

Parallel marches took place in dozens of cities around the country.

The debate

Preparations for this year’s march were roiled by an intense ideological debate among the movement’s senior leadership. In November, Teresa Shook, one of the movement’s founders, accused the four main leaders of the national march organization of anti-Semitism.

Despite pleas for unity, an alternate women’s march organization sprung up in protest and a parallel rally took place in New York on Saturday a few miles away from the official New York Women’s March protest.

ADRIENNE GRUNWALD / THE NEW YORK TIMES Demonstrators of all ages and races attend the Women’s Unity Rally at Foley Square in New York on Saturday, the second anniversary of the Women’s March.