A wide range ofcrowd estimates was suggested for the event,[18] with most media sourcing thePublic Information Officer of theD.C. Fire Department, who unofficially estimated the attendance "in excess of 75,000" people.[1][18][19][20] The D.C. Fire Department later released a statement saying that they do not do crowd estimates, and any crowd estimation attributed to them was false; they also stated that an early estimate of 60,000 over Twitter was for a specific area, Freedom Plaza, not the total number of participants in the event.[21] Event organizers also reported a range of attendance. FreedomWorks suggested between 600,000 and 800,000 participants while National Taxpayers Union said 200,000 to 300,000.[18]
On Saturday, September 12, participants gathered at Freedom Plaza, located just east of theWhite House.[22] The march was scheduled to proceedPennsylvania Avenue at 11:30 a.m., led by afife and drum corps, and march towardsCapitol Hill; however due to a larger-than-expected number of protesters, the Plaza and surrounding area became overcrowded and the march set off one hour ahead of schedule.[23][24]
C-SPAN recorded the entire two-hour-50-minute rally, which was officially kicked off at 1:11 p.m. with a welcoming speech by Jenny Beth Martin, the co-founder and national coordinator ofTea Party Patriots.[25]
Though many of the signs were close to the original Tea Party message of "Taxed Enough Already," such as "Stop Obama's Spending Spree," some of the handwritten signs carried by protesters included statements such as "Liar Liar Pants on Fire!" and "Hey Obamacare! Hands off my body".[5][27][28] Other signs promotedObama citizenship conspiracy theories, depicted theObama "Joker" image, and compared Obama toAdolf Hitler.[3][5][19][29] One protester commented that many signs were "expressing concerns about the tax burdens to be carried by "our grandchildren" and other signs he didn't feel were appropriate to repeat".[30]Gene Healy, author and vice president at thelibertarianCato Institute, expressed the opinion that the signs generally focused on opposition to governmentbailouts, Obama's proposal onhealth care reform, and the appointment ofpresidential "czars".[27]
Following the event, a wide range ofcrowd estimates was reported by organizers, protesters, andmembers of the media.[18] The space occupied by the crowd extended from theCapitol lawn down around theNational Mall as far as Third Street.[33] The crowd estimates mentioned in many news outlets included "tens of thousands"[17] and "between 60,000 and 75,000",[1][2][34] while many sourced thePublic Information Officer of theD.C. Fire Department who unofficially estimated there were "in excess of 75,000" people in attendance.[1][18][19][20] The D.C. Fire Department later released a statement that the crowd estimation attributed to them was false and based on an early estimation of a specific area, Freedom Plaza, not the number of participants in the event.[21]
Matt Kibbe, president ofFreedomWorks, the organizer of the event, stated on stage thatABC News had reported 1 million to 1.5 million protesters in attendance. ABC News later published an article saying that they were misquoted by Kibbe, and went on to report that 60,000 to 70,000 had attended the event, citing the unofficial D.C. Fire Department number.[20] After comparing photographs of Saturday's protest with previous events, FreedomWorks revised their crowd estimate to be between 600,000 and 800,000.[18][38] Pete Sepp, a spokesman for theNational Taxpayers Union, one of the organizations that sponsored the march, said the group estimated the crowd at 75,000 in the morning and from 200,000 and 300,000 as the day went on.[18]
Farouk El-Baz, aBoston University research professor and expert on crowd estimation, told theLA Times that his informal research from media coverage indicated 75,000 as the peak attendance. El-Baz noted that, because there seemed to be no aerial photos of the event, reaching any sort of rigorous estimate might be impossible. TheWashington Metro reported 87,000 extra riders that day as compared to the average ridership.[18]
Another march was held on September 12, 2010, in Washington, with, according toFOX News, a "thousands-strong" crowd.[39] Two other major tea parties were held inSacramento, California, which attracted "thousands" andSt. Louis, Missouri.[40]
