Washington, January 14 (RHC)-- Tens of thousands of people from across the United States are preparing to travel to Washington, DC to protest on January 20th.  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to join a club of infamous U.S. leaders who have seen their inauguration ceremonies marred by angry protesters against their reactionary policies. 

In the U.S., most recent inaugural protests have been against wars and the presidents who failed to put an end to them, like Richard M. Nixon, who on January 20, 1969, saw thousands of opponents carrying anti-war banners while he was doing the traditional inaugural parade from the U.S. Capitol to the White House. 

The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organized against Nixon, and protesters -- most of them youth inspired by liberation struggles around the world -- threw rocks, bottles and improvised smoke bombs as Nixon's limousine came down the main thoroughfare.  Riot police and the Secret Service cracked down on protesters and arrested dozens of them. 

On January 21, 2001, tens of thousands of demonstrators attended the inauguration of George W. Bush to protest the outcome and controversial circumstances of the 2000 U.S. presidential election, most of the people were carrying banners that read, “Fraud” and "Not my president." 

The protests were mostly peaceful, with only four protesters arrested and Bush's limousine was hit by a tennis ball and an egg thrown from the crowd during the inaugural parade. 

But during his second inauguration in 2005, more than 10,000 demonstrators were estimated to have poured onto the capital's streets, as the country was in the throes of the Iraq War.  That protest was huge and boisterous and those who split off from the permitted marches were arrested, beaten and pepper-sprayed by the police. 

For Trump’s inauguration, police expect some 900,000 people to flood Washington, which includes the parade along streets thronged with onlookers.  About 3,000 police officers, 5,000 National Guard troops and federal agents will staff buffer crowd-control barriers and bag checkpoints.