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Women’s March draws smaller but enthusiastic crowds amid changes

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While attendance at the 2020 Women’s March was considerably smaller than years past, those who did turn out to rally marched through cold, heavy rain and were no less passionate than those who marched before them, according to reports.

Amid leadership changes and lingering questions about inclusivity, the national march held in Washington D.C., drew just a fraction of attendees compared with the inaugural 2017 march —  under 10,000 people, according to the permit filed with the National Park Service.

But organizers of the march, which is under new leadership this year, took to the streets alongside supporters, forgoing the traditional reserved stages in an effort to reconnect with them and send a final rebuke to President Donald Trump before the 2020 election.

Organizers worked to put three main themes at the front of this year’s march — climate change, immigration and reproductive rights — but the focus remained on the president, the Washington Post reported.

In Los Angeles, thousands of women demonstrated at Pershing Square and Grand Park. Hundreds of participants carried wire hangers wrapped in pink paper with the #noban hashtag on one side and “Warning: This is not a surgical instrument” on the other.

Graphic designer Robin McCar­thy, who created the hangers, brought thousands to the march and handed them out to supporters. “They’re an awful but visceral reminder,” she said, “and that’s what we want.”

In Iowa, the fourth annual Women’s March planned in downtown Iowa City was canceled due to inclement weather.