Police in Washington have said they have issued a permit for the Women's March on Washington, a demonstration planned for the day after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The Metropolitan Police Department said it has issued a permit for the January 21 march to start near the US Capitol. Organisers have said they will march down Independence Avenue, and police said the march is scheduled to disperse at Constitution Avenue near the Washington Monument. But Cassady Fendlay, a spokeswoman for the march, said the route is not finalized, nor is the location where it will end.
Police said that on their application, march organizers estimated 200,000 participants.
Organisers initially hoped to rally at the Lincoln Memorial and other spaces, but those plans conflicted with other groups and inauguration events.
The Washington Post reported that Janaye Ingram, the head of logistics for the Women's March on Washington, said last week that the group still has a pending application for a permit for various locations that, like the Lincoln Memorial, are under the purview of the National Park Service. Ingram said the group has not rescinded its application but is no longer interested in rallying in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
A National Park Service list of permit requests shows the group was also interested in space at the Washington Monument. About 20 groups have applied for permits to demonstrate on National Park Service land on or around the January 20 inauguration date.
National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said the agency is waiting for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which has priority, to make decisions about what space it will use before issuing permits for certain locations.
