# List of protests and demonstrations 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 the late 20th and early 21st century American civic engagement, with the rate of mass protests rising exponentially since the mid 2010s thanks in part to the sudden and widespread availability of smartphones as well as the social media revolution allowing instant and widespread communication and planning, with each of the top ten attended protests occurring since 1970 and four of the top five occurring since the start of the Trump administration in 2017.

## 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

Rows shaded in yellow indicates the protest happened in multiple cities simultaneously across the United States.
| Rank | Name | Attendance | City | Territory | Year | Issue |
| 1 | George Floyd Protests/2020–2023 United States racial unrest | 50,000,000 | Nationwide | USA | 2020 | Police Brutality |
| 2 | Earth Day | 20,000,000 | Nationwide | USA | 1970 | Environmental protection |
| 3 | 2017 Women's March | 3,300,000–5,600,000 | Nationwide | USA | 2017 | Feminism |
| 4 | March for Our Lives | 1,200,000-2,000,000 | Nationwide | USA | 2018 | Gun control |
| 5 | 2018 Women's March | 1,500,000 | Nationwide | USA | 2018 | Feminism |
| 6 | #RickyRenuncia | ~1,100,000 | San Juan | Puerto Rico | 2019 | Anti-corruption; see Telegramgate |
| 7 | Great American Boycott | ~1,000,000 | Nationwide | USA | 2006 | Immigrant rights |
| 8 | March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation | 800,000–1,000,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 1993 | LGBT rights |
| 9 | Anti-nuclear weapon march, part of the Nuclear Freeze campaign | 700,000–1,000,000 | New York City | New York | 1982 | Anti-nuclear |
| 10 | Million Man March | 670,000–800,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 1995 | Anti-racism |
| 11 | March for Women's Lives | 500,000–1,000,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 2004 | Feminism |
| 12 | Million Mom March | 750,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 2000 | Gun control |
| 13 | March for Science | 400,000–1,000,000 | Nationwide | USA | 2017 | Science |
| 14 | March for Life | 400,000-650,000 (2013 estimate from rally organizers) | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 2013 | Anti abortion |
| 15 | Million Woman March | 500,000 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 1997 | Black feminism |
| 16 | Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam | 500,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 1969 | Anti-Vietnam War |
| 17 | March on Washington for Gaza | 100,000-400,000+ | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 2024 | Free Palestine movement |
| 18 | People's Climate March | 311,000–400,000 | New York City | New York | 2014 | Climate Change |
| 19 | September 2019 climate strikes | 315,000 | New York City | New York | 2019 | Climate Change |
| 20 | Tea Party Tax Day protests | c. 311,000 | Nationwide | USA | 2009 | Fiscal conservatism |
| 21 | March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom | 250,000–300,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 1963 | Civil rights |
| 22 | Solidarity Day march | 250,000–260,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 1981 | Labor rights |
| 23 | 20th Anniversary March on Washington | 250,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 1983 | Civil rights |
| 24 | February 15 Iraq war protests | 200,000–375,000 | New York City | New York | 2003 | Anti-Iraq War |
| 25 | Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear | 215,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 2010 | Civil discourse |
| 26 | March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights | 200,000 | Washington D.C. | District of Columbia | 1987 | LGBT rights |
| 27 | National March on Washington: Free Palestine | 100,000-300,000 | Washington D. C. | District of Columbia | 2023 | Free Palestine movement |
| 28 | March for Israel | 100,000-290,000 | Washington D. C. | District of Columbia | 2023 | Pro-Israel March |
| 29 | 2015 Armenian March for Justice | 130,000+ | Los Angeles | California | 2015 | Armenian genocide recognition |
| 30 | Proposition 187 Protests | 70,000 | Los Angeles | California | 1994 | Immigrant rights |
| 31 | 1999 Seattle WTO protests | 40,000 | Seattle | Washington | 1999 | Anti-globalization |