List of protests and demonstrations in the United States by size

Widespread mass protests have occurred throughout U.S. history, particularly in the 20th and 21st centuries, reflecting widespread civic engagement and mobilization around social, political, and environmental issues. These events have ranged from single-location gatherings to coordinated nationwide events.

List

This list includes U.S. protests with at least 101,000 participants, ordered by peak single-day protestor turnout. Events spanning multiple locations are highlighted in yellow.

Rank Name Attendance City Territory Year Issue Notes
1 No Kings (October 2025) 5,000,000–7,200,000[1] Nationwide USA 2025 Second presidency of Donald Trump, democratic backsliding, deployment of federal forces in the United States Widely regarded as the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, with Earth Day 1970's larger crowd comprising predominantly non-protesting participants[1]
2 No Kings (June 2025) 5,000,000[2][3] Nationwide USA 2025 Second presidency of Donald Trump, DOGE, increasing ICE presence
3 Hands Across America 5,000,000[4] Nationwide USA 1986 Poverty
4 2017 Women's March 3,300,000–4,600,000[5][6] Nationwide USA 2017 First Presidency of Donald Trump
5 Hands Off protests 250,000–5,000,000[7][8][9][10] Nationwide USA 2025 Second presidency of Donald Trump, political corruption, DOGE
6 Earth Day 1,000,000–3,000,000 protestors,
20,000,000 total participants including those not protesting[11]		 Nationwide USA 1970 Environmental protection While often cited as the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, crowd size estimates (~20M) include non-protesting participants; it is estimated that roughly 5–15% of crowd (1,000,000-3,000,000) were protesters[11]
7 March for Our Lives 1,200,000–2,000,000[12][13][14][15] Nationwide USA 2018 Gun control
8 2018 Women's March 1,500,000[16] Nationwide USA 2018 Presidency of Donald Trump
9 #RickyRenuncia 1,100,000[17] San Juan Puerto Rico 2019 Telegramgate, political corruption
10 Great American Boycott 1,000,000[18] Nationwide USA 2006 Immigrant rights
11 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation 800,000–1,000,000[19][20] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 1993 LGBTQ rights
12 Anti-nuclear weapon march, part of the Nuclear Freeze campaign 700,000–1,000,000[21][22] New York City New York 1982 Anti-nuclear movement
13 Million Man March 670,000–800,000[23] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 1995 Anti-racism
14 March for Women's Lives 500,000–1,000,000[24][25] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 2004 Feminism
15 Million Mom March 750,000[26] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 2000 Gun control
16 March for Science 400,000–1,000,000[27] Nationwide USA 2017 Science
17 March for Life 400,000–650,000 (2013 estimate from rally organizers)[28][29] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 2013 Anti-abortion movement
18 George Floyd protests 500,000[30],
15,000,000–26,000,000 (multi-day)[31][32][33]		 Nationwide USA 2020 Police brutality, first presidency of Donald Trump Widely recognized as the largest sustained protest movement in U.S. history[30], spanning nearly three years, with peak single-day participation estimated at approximately 500,000 protestors
19 Million Woman March 500,000[34] Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1997 Black feminism
20 Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam 500,000[35] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 1969 Opposition to the Vietnam War
21 March on Washington for Gaza 100,000–400,000+[36][37] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 2024 Opposition to the Gaza war
22 People's Climate March 311,000–400,000[38][39] New York City New York 2014 Climate movement
23 September 2019 climate strikes 315,000[40] New York City New York 2019 Climate movement
24 Tea Party Tax Day protests 311,000[41] Nationwide USA 2009 Fiscal conservatism
25 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 250,000–300,000[42][43] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 1963 Civil rights movement
26 Solidarity Day march 250,000–260,000[44][45] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 1981 Labor rights
27 20th Anniversary March on Washington 250,000[46] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 1983 Civil rights movement
28 Families Belong Together 250,000+ Nationwide USA 2018 Trump administration family separation policy
29 February 15 Iraq war protests 200,000–375,000[47][48] New York City New York 2003 Opposition to the Iraq War
30 Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear 215,000[49] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 2010 Civil discourse
31 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights 200,000[50] Washington D.C. District of Columbia 1987 LGBTQ rights
32 National March on Washington: Free Palestine 100,000–300,000[51][52] Washington D. C. District of Columbia 2023 Opposition to the Gaza war
33 March for Israel 100,000–290,000[53][54] Washington D. C. District of Columbia 2023 Pro-Israel
34 2015 Armenian March for Justice 130,000+[55] Los Angeles California 2015 Armenian genocide recognition

Counting methods

In 1995, the National Park Service estimated that 400,000 people attended the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., the official count for the event.[56] The organizers said that more than a million people turned out, and they threatened to sue the Park Service unless it revised its estimate. Congress, in response, barred the agency from producing any more crowd estimates.[57]

Since then, official crowd estimates for organized political protests, demonstrations, and marches have relied on an amalgam of police data, organizer estimates, the research of crowd scientists, and journalists.[58]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "thousands turn out nationwide for 'No Kings' protests against Trump administration". PBS News Hour (online ed.). June 14, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  3. ^ "ACLU Statement: 2,100 Protests Take Place Nationwide". American Civil Liberties Union (online ed.). June 14, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  4. ^ Adams, Cydney (May 25, 2016). "May 25, 1986: Millions participate in Hands Across America - CBS News". Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  5. ^ Owen, Tess (January 23, 2017). "The Women's March turnout is at 3.2 million and counting". Vice News (online ed.). Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
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  7. ^ Davis, Wes (April 6, 2025). "'Millions' may have protested Trump and Musk yesterday". The Verge. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
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  11. ^ a b "When Was the First Earth Day?". NOAA (online ed.). April 11, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2020.Fung, Archon; Richer, Stephen (October 21, 2025). "Just How Powerful Are Protests?". Harvard Ash Center. Retrieved October 21, 2025.Rome, Adam (2010). "The Genius of Earth Day". Environmental History. 15 (2): 194–205. doi:10.1093/envhis/emq036. "millions of Americans took part in thousands of Earth Day teach‑ins, protests, and celebrations""How Earth Day Moved Environmentalism Front and Center". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved October 22, 2025. About 20 million Americans — roughly 10 percent of the population — packed demonstrations and teach-ins across the nation on April 22, 1970.Rome, Adam (2020). "Earth Day: 50 Years of Continuity and Change in Environmentalism". People & Nature. 2 (1): 88–100. Retrieved October 22, 2025. The first Earth Day in April 1970 engaged millions of people in thousands of events around the United States, from rallies to teach-ins to cleanups.
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  13. ^ "The odds that a gun will kill the average American may surprise you". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
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  18. ^ Glaister, Dan; MacAskill, Ewen. "US counts cost of day without immigrants". The Guardian. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Smith, Nadine (April 25, 2013). "The 20th Anniversary of the LGBT March on Washington: How Far Have We Come?". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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  35. ^ History.com Staff. "Second moratorium against the war held". History.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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  47. ^ "Cities jammed in worldwide protest of war in Iraq". CNN. February 16, 2003. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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  50. ^ Williams, Lena (October 12, 1987). "200,000 March in Capital to Seek Gay Rights and Money for AIDS". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  51. ^ "300,000 pro-Palestine protesters in D.C. confront Biden and Netanyahu's genocide". Archived from the original on November 8, 2023.
  52. ^ "Tens of thousands gather for pro-Palestinian march in D.C. to demand Gaza cease-fire". NPR. November 4, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  53. ^ "March for Israel draws estimated 290,000 to D.C. to show solidarity, denounce antisemitism". Dallas News. November 14, 2023. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  54. ^ "Tens of thousands of supporters of Israel rally in Washington, crying 'never again'". AP News. November 14, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  55. ^ Mejia, Brittny (April 24, 2015). "Armenian genocide: Massive march ends at Turkish consulate in L.A." The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
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