Protesters demonstrate in favor of the Affordable Care Act outside the office of Sen. Orrin Hatch in Washington, January 31. Credit:AL DRAGO Sometimes it's even sooner than that. Protests organised against Trump can amass hundreds on the fly: When the administration issued its first version of a travel ban that barred people from seven predominantly Muslim nations, Jones said, "the next day we were all at the White House". The protests are also proliferating, with more expected as the weather warms. Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the National Park Service, said the agency had received about 200 requests since the start of the year to demonstrate on parklands in Washington, including the National Mall. There were about 50 requests during the same period last year. (The number this year does include the numerous protests around the time of the inaugural.) Another sign of an uptick is the crowd at All Souls Unitarian, a Washington church where social justice and worship have long gone hand in hand. Each Sunday service has attracted about 200 more people than before the election, said the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Hardies, the church's senior minister. The 2400 people who attended the first service after the January 21 Women's March on Washington set a record. "You show up at an airport and you feel like you're with your people," Hardies said, referring to protests against the Trump administration's travel ban. "You come to church and you're with your people."

Protesters at a rally against President Donald Trump's revised travel ban at the Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, March 7. Credit:New York Times There are now so many weekend demonstrations to choose from that people who want to participate are running out of weekend hours. So they are figuring out how to squeeze in a protest during the workday. During the recent A Day Without a Woman protest, Wajiha Rais, a 25-year-old lawyer, used her lunch hour to attend. She grabbed a sign that said "Keep your tiny, tiny, tiny hands off my uterus" and stood in Lafayette Square outside the White House with women who had taken the day off. "There seems to be something going on every day, and I want to contribute," Rais said. "It feels like the country has regressed quite a bit with our new president." A man wears a hat that reads "Trump De-Greating America" as people gathered for a protest against President Donald Trump's new travel ban order in Lafayette Park outside the White House earlier this month. Credit:Andrew Harnik Another demonstration last week against a revised version of Trump's travel ban was held at 8am outside the Customs and Border Protection headquarters and dispersed within the hour.

Leah Muskin-Pierret, 22, who described her work as advocacy on Middle East policy, often attends protests. She said she had noticed newcomers who were willing to attend protests, even if the gatherings ended quickly. People gather for a protest against President Donald Trump's new travel ban order in Lafayette Park outside the White House earlier this month. Credit:Andrew Harnik "I definitely think that more people are coming out," Muskin-Pierret said. "People feel a new obligation to stand up for what they believe in." Protesting has always been a way for people to find community and celebrate their cause, according to Rachel L. Einwohner, a professor at Purdue University who studies the sociology of protests. Einwohner said the recent popularisation of the term "the resistance" by liberals might have had a lot to do with how easily it blended with modern pop culture. The prevalence of Princess Leia signs at the Women's March is one example, she said. The concept of resistance is also a more accessible idea for people who cannot attend a big march or travel to a demonstration.

These days, she said, resistance can be as simple as deleting the Uber app. "The word 'protest' often gets a bad rap," Einwohner said. "'Resistance' is also a little more acceptable and safer." Others are finding small ways to stay active by mixing social activism with social activities. Megan McPeak Davis, a school psychologist, said she was motivated to start organising her network of friends and acquaintances hours after she returned home from the Women's March in Washington. She created a private Facebook group – Nasty Women Make Plans – and, following the guidance set by organisers of the march, invited a group of friends over to meet and figure out what to do next. For her, it was a more serious version of a book club. "I don't have a ton of time for socialisation," said McPeak Davis, 37, a mother of two. "I'm kind of in the place where if I can get social and active in the same time, that's like two bangs for my buck."

It's also not uncommon for friendship and the occasional romance to blossom. Brendan Orsinger, a 35-year-old activist, said that he met a love interest last year after they had both been booked and put in handcuffs for civil disobedience at the Capitol. "We ended up dating," he said. The love did not last. Orsinger met someone else – at another protest. One obstacle is protest fatigue. Muskin-Pierret, who attended the early morning protest, called the problem of weariness "so real," and Jones, the college professor, said "self care" was becoming an important element of her routine. "At some point," Jones said, "you're just going to have to say, 'I can't protest this weekend, I have other things to do'."