The protests were called in response to Donald Trump's decree on Friday (AFP)
New York:
About 3,000 people demonstrated in New York Saturday against Donald Trump, voicing solidarity with LGBT groups, Muslims and others they fear the US president could target.
In bright afternoon sun, protesters massed around the historic Stonewall Inn, a powerful symbol of the gay community and its hard-won rights, in Greenwich Village.
Waving rainbow and American flags, a colorful crowd that included people wearing pink "pussy hats," a symbol of the women's marches that gathered around the globe two weeks ago, chanted slogans such as: "Resist" and "No hate! No fear! Refugees are welcome here!"
The protests were called in response to Trump's decree late Friday that sought to bar citizens from seven mostly Muslim countries from entering the United States. A federal judge later that day blocked its implementation.
Saturday marked the first time since the billionaire realty TV star was sworn in on January 20 that the gay community held a major protest in Manhattan.
Several local politicians delivered speeches calling for an end to Trump's travel-related restrictions, particularly the refugee ban, including powerful New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.
Gabriel Blau, one of the organizers, said the LGBT community is made up of "immigrants, Muslims, women... we are no strangers to what it is to be under attack."
In a city and community that voted overwhelmingly for Democrat Hillary Clinton, some protesters took harsh tones.
"I came because we have a fascist at the head of the United States and we have to come together to resist him," said filmmaker Steve Lippman.
The Stonewall Inn is the site where riots broke out on June 28, 1969 after police raided the gay bar in the middle of the night to enforce a law that at the time barred homosexuals from being served alcohol.
The episode was considered a major catalyst for the LGBT rights movement in the United States. Former president Barack Obama designated it a national monument in June 2016.
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