Former President Bill Clinton stands on stage with his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, after she spoke during a presidential primary election night rally in New York on Tuesday night. Photo: Julio Cortez/AP

Hillary Clinton has thanked her supporters for helping her reach a historic moment for women - the US Democratic nomination for president.

"Thanks to you, we've reached a milestone," she told cheering crowds at a rally in New York.

Ms Clinton hailed "the first time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nominee".

Hours later, she won the California Democratic primary, further cementing her hold on the nomination.

In all, she won four of the six states voting in primaries on Tuesday, also taking New Jersey, South Dakota and New Mexico.

Her rival Bernie Sanders found victory in the Montana and North Dakota caucuses and has steadfastly refused to quit the race.

Polls had suggested the contest in California would be tight, but Ms Clinton won by a margin of around 13pc.

Mr Sanders had been hoping for a win in that state, the country's most populous, to boost his campaign and bolster his claim to be a more viable presidential contender than Clinton.

Threatening

But angered Sanders supporters have taken to the internet to plan their next steps - with some saying they would rather vote for Donald Trump than Clinton, and many threatening to spoil their ballots.

Some said they would still vote for Sanders as a write-in candidate.

In one of the most popular pro-Sanders Facebook groups, Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash, which boasts almost 450,000 members, people vented their anger at Clinton's win and posted how they planned to move forward.

One member wrote: "Not much difference in the two choices. Eventual Impeachment with Trump seems the only option."

A strategy many of the online Sanders supporters want to take seems to be drumming up widespread anger with a Trump win - and then starting a fresh campaign for Sanders.

A member of the group said: "I will vote for Trump as a f*** you to the stupid people that voted Hillary in.

"We are more likely to have a revolution with Trump in office and less likely to have a foreign war".

Some said they would rather let the country 'burn' with Trump than let Clinton into the White House, with one person writing: "I'd rather Trump than Clinton. I won't vote for him, but I'd be happy to see this country burn."

Another agreed, writing: "Last time I checked, it's MY f***ing vote. I can't stand that b**** Hillary. Period.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure her a** doesn't step foot in that White House."

Many took a different approach, saying they would not vote for Clinton, but would write in Sanders as a write-in candidate. A write-in candidate is one which is not on the ballot, but a person people can vote for regardless, by writing their name in.

They started a hashtag: #writehimin, which has spread to other social media sites. They also started hashtags such as #neverhillary and #ifwebernyoubernwithus, which have spread to Twitter and Tumblr.

The #ifwebernyoubernwithus hashtag refers to the idea that "if you voted Hillary, you deserve Trump".

Memes with the slogan on have been created by Sanders voters, and references a line from the book and film franchise 'The Hunger Games'.

It seems to be comparing Clinton to the evil President Snow, who forced children to battle each other to death in arenas for entertainment, in the books.

Katniss Everdeen, the hero of the franchise, said: "President Snow says he's sending us a message? Well, I have one for him. You can torture us and bomb us and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that? Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us".

Irish Independent