List of protests in the United States by size


The right to assemble is recognized as a human right and protected in the First Amendment of the US Constitution under the clause, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Widespread mass protest became a distinct characteristic of 20th and 21st century American civic engagement, with each of the top ten attended protests occurring since 1974 and each of the top five occurring since the advent of the Trump administration.

Methodology

In 1995, the National Park Service estimated 400,000 people attended the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., the official count for the event. The organizers said 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.
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.

List

ProtestCityEstimated participantsDateImage
1George Floyd protests—15,000,000-26,000,000 on May 28, 2020, three days after the killing of George Floyd.|alt=|thumb
22017 Women's March—
The Women's March on January 21, 2017, the day following the inauguration of Donald Trump.
3March for Our Lives—, 2018
42018 Women's March—
5#RickyRenunciaSan Juan, Puerto Rico
6March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and LiberationWashington, D.C.
7Anti-nuclear weapon march, part of the Nuclear Freeze campaignNew York City
8Million Man MarchWashington, D.C.
9March for Women's LivesWashington, D.C.
10Million Mom MarchWashington, D.C.
11March for Science—, 2017
12March for LifeWashington, D.C.Annually since January 22, 1974
13Million Woman MarchPhiladelphia
14Moratorium to End the War in VietnamWashington, D.C.
15People's Climate MarchNew York City
16March on Washington for Jobs and FreedomWashington, D.C.
17Solidarity Day marchWashington, D.C.
18February 15 Iraq war protestsNew York City
19September 2019 climate strikesNew York City250,000
20Rally to Restore Sanity and/or FearWashington, D.C.
21March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay RightsWashington, D.C. participating in the march
222015 Armenian March for JusticeLos Angeles
231999 Seattle WTO protestsSeattle