Crowds disperse after Sharpton march and Glenn Beck rally

glenn beck rally
(Photo: Jay Westcott)

D.C. will be flooded this weekend with thousands of visitors for large events, including a rally organized by Glenn Beck called "Restoring Honor", and a civil rights rally and march called "Reclaim the Dream." This is our liveblog of the events, now concluded.

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Long story short

Updates from the "Restoring Honor" rally and "Reclaim the Dream" march in Washington.

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4:45 p.m. Lots of casualties.

The DC Fire and EMS media hotline reports 150 to 200 people were evaluated at "casualty collection" stations serving the two events. More than 100 received treatment, mostly for heat-related ailments. About two dozen people were taken to hospitals from "Restoring Honor" and another dozen from "Reclaim the Dream." Six or seven of those were described as serious, mostly people with heart conditions.

4:08 p.m. Slow going getting out of town.

Metro reports delays on the Red, Blue and Green Lines.

3:59 p.m. Sharpton rally ends.

"Reclaim the Dream" rally just ended after singing "We Shall Overcome" and a prayer.

3:57 p.m. National Urban League photos.

From @NatUrbanLeague on Twitter: (PHOTOS) Our I AM Empowered Team has captured tons of great images from 'RECLAIM the DREAM' ... http://fb.me/IeU5YK2S

3:46 p.m. Live video coverage of "Reclaim the Dream" from CBS News.

3:43 p.m. CNN coverage of "Reclaim the Dream."

3:38 p.m. Visitors are coming to the Lincoln Memorial as rally crews pack up.

Mike Conneen of ABC7 reports from the Mall: "Crews are breaking down and packing up equipement from the rally. There are still dozens of rally attendees who are sitting, standing or otherwise waiting here on the Mall. Presumably, they're waiting for a cab or a ride to pick them up. Increasingly, we're seeing more visitors to the Lincoln Memorial (who are not affiliated with the "Restoring Honor" rally) who have come to remember Dr. King and his historic speech. As these visitors arrive and the rally attendees slowly disperse, we have not seen any confrontations or conflict."

3:32 p.m. A photo comparison.

The Political Carnival compares photographs from the day's two rallies, mocking the Beck rally as "Whitestock."

3:24 p.m. Politico coverage of "Reclaim the Dream."

Politico reports on the "Reclaim the Dream" march, quoting the Rev. Al Sharpton: "They may have the mall, but we have the message. They may have the platform, but we have the dream. The dream was not state rights."

Washington Post reports on the march, also quoting Sharpton: "Let the line stretch. They're already going to say there were only 2,000 or 3,000 of you here. ... If people start heckling, smile at them. This ain't about you, it's about Dr. King."

3:15 p.m. Twitter reports from DC Fire and EMS.

Update - Reclaim the Dream March - Casualty Collection Point @ 6th St & Independence St NW, incl cooling Sta - EMS has transported several

Update - DC F&EMS call volume excessive - as noted addl resources deployed - 3 EMS Mass Casualty Task Force & 15 EMS transport units

Update - Reclaim the Dream March - Casualty Collection Point @ 6th St & Independence St NW, incl cooling Sta - EMS has transported several

3:10 p.m. Marchers reach the National Mall.

@chatelainedc: Reclaim the Dream march is arriving. There are thousands of us!

@DanielleRicks: We're here baby! Miles and miles of Reclaim The Dream marchers

3:05 p.m Conservative tweets make fun of the smaller crowd at "Reclaim the Dream."

@JTlol: Al Sharpton has gone from the Million Man March to the Dozen Dude Dud.

@z56po: More people at the Little League World Series game than at Sharpton's march.

2:20 p.m. A picture of the "Reclaim the Dream" march from Twitter.

@ebrotheron: Just ran into Rev. Sharpton's march on my way home. There are A LOT of people. http://twitpic.com/2j2kro

2:44 p.m. Tweets from the "Reclain the Dream" rally and march:

@ken_homer: "You can't blame Glenn Beck for his 'March on Washington' envy. Too bad he doesn't have a message worthy of the place." Al Sharpton

@joeh7622: "They're having an anti-government march on a day King came to appeal to the government." ~Rev. Al Sharpton, on the Beck rally

2:06 p.m. TBD's Mike Conneen, hydration specialist. Also, good luck finding a cab

"The rally has been over for nearly an hour now, but the stream of rally attendees just keeps coming," reports TBD's Mike Conneen. "Many of them appear to be walking across the Memorial Bridge, headed to meet buses or other transportation. It seems the heat is getting to a lot of people. Every 20 minutes or so, an ambulance will cruise down Independence Avenue with its lights and sirens on. We just watched as one woman collapsed crossing the street next to our live truck on 23rd Street SW. A Park Ranger and many others came to her assistance. We gave her a bottle of water from our live truck. It's clear many in the crowd were not prepared for the heat. There are a lot of elderly and disabled individuals struggling to make the long walk back to their cars or Metro stops. A few have asked us where they can find a cab, but we have seen very few cabs in this area. DC-FEMS says its crews have been busy all day, assisting with the heat. We are also told firefighters are hosing down rally attendees on 17th Street NW."

1:56 p.m. God's view of the Beck rally

If God happened to be flying in a helicopter over the Mall, that is.

1:49 p.m. Firefighters hosing down people on the Mall

D.C. Fire and EMS has setup up several cooling stations on the Mall where fire engines are spraying water on overheated rally attendees. Also, two EMS task forces have been deployed, tweets the agency.

1:44 p.m. Beck supporters disappointed that TBD isn't Fox News

TBD's Mike Conneen reports that he's interviewed Beck rally attendees from Ohio, Florida and North Carolina — "and everywhere else. Many of them straight up don't like being asked about the controversy with the MLK Jr. anniversary. They see it as a non-issue. They also express disdain for Civil Rights leaders (Rev. Al Sharpton, Walter Fauntroy) who have criticized Glenn Beck for his timing with the 'Restoring Honor' rally. They say MLK Jr. would be proud of Glenn Beck's message. Some also express disappointment, even skepticism, when we tell them we're not with FOX News. Several attendees have stopped by our live truck, and at every other live truck parked here near the Mall, to take pictures and video of us or our equipment. Most everyone has been friendly, but overall, the crowd is very suspicious of the 'mainstream media.'"

1:35 p.m. Fenty campaign tweets, ignores boos

Many Sharpton rally attendees are tweeting about Fenty being booed, but not the Fenty campaign itself, which just tweeted, "What is this generation's civil rights issue? Education." There's no mention of his reception, but this Twitpic confirms that he had some supporters there, too. Well, two anyway.

1:26 p.m. Mayor Adrian Fenty booed at Sharpton rally

Politico's Marin Cogan is reporting (via Twitter) that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty was booed at the Sharpton rally by an "otherwise very polite audience." Other tweeps are confirming this.

1:08 p.m. Metro has opened fare gates to ease crowding

Post reporting customers are being allowed to pass through at the Smithsonian, Foggy Bottom-GWU, Franconia-Springfield and Shady Grove stations without swiping fare cards in an attempt to ease massive crowding (not helped by George Washington University's move-in day).

Official are being reported on the Red, Green and Blue lines.

1:03 p.m. Vince Gray in the house

Mayoral candidate Vince Gray spoke at the Sharpton rally, tweets Mike Memoli. A press release from Gray's campaign confirms it. Anyone know what he said?

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