LGBT Solidarity Rally At Stonewall To Protest Trump: LIVE UPDATES

Update 5 p.m. – The rally has ended. For more coverage of what happened on Saturday at Stonewall and other West Village news, click here to sign up for Patch's daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts. Or click here to find your local NYC Patch.

Update 4:40 p.m. — The head of one of the country's largest LGBT legal organizations is promising to sue the Trump administration should it enact any laws or executive orders that restrict the rights of LGBT Americans.

"Lambda Legal is preparing to sue all over the country," the organization's CEO Rachel Tiven said. "We will fight to keep America free."

Update 3:30 p.m. — Mayor Bill de Blasio has so far not been seen at the rally but Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon is here.

"We don't know yet what Donald trump has in store for us and chances are he doesn't either," Nixon told the crowd. "He poses as our ally, he reassures us that he would never let his administration roll back our hard won rights but he chooses Mike Pence the poster boy for anti LGBT rhetoric legislation and conversion therapy as his Vice President."

The crowd immediately booed as Nixon said Pence's name.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights delivered a message to the crowd on behalf of de Blasio's administration, telling the crowd that New York City sees you no matter who you are.

Update 3 p.m. — One hour into the rally and thousands of New Yorkers have heard promises from their elected officials

Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke briefly before the growing crowd, ending his remarks with an energetic call-and-response from the crowd to "dump Trump!"

"I've got your back, and I know you've got mine," Schumer said on Saturday, a nod to the role as Trump-resistor-in-chief that Democrats have increasingly asked him to take on during the new Republican administration.

New York City council member Corey Johnson, who organized the rally, spoke before the crowd of the symbolic importance of the solidarity rally before the Stonewall Inn.

"One of the many things that Stonewall taught us was that progress does not come easy," Johnson said.

The council member, who represents districts including Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Times Square, called on those gathered to maintain momentum and to elect progressive representatives to Congress in the 2018 mid-term elections.

"Here in New York City, we will be the face of the resistance," Johnson said before the bundled up but energetic crowd.

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — Patch is live from the LGBT solidarity rally at the Stonewall National Monument on Saturday. The rally officially kicks off at 2 p.m. with a song, which will be followed by a number of speakers. Along with city council member Corey Johnson, other elected officials, including Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), will be present at the rally. Schumer is expected to take the stage sometime between 2 and 3 p.m., according to a spokesman for Johnson. For more news about Stonewall and other West Village news, click here to sign up for Patch's daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts. Or click here to find your local NYC Patch.

Schumer, who has made the rounds at similar protests, was at the center of protest himself earlier this week when thousands marched to the senior New York Senator's home in Park Slope on Tuesday to demand he take a tougher stand against the new Republican administration. The rally was called "What the F--- Chuck!"

And a reminder for those who live in the area: The NYPD says both sides of Christopher Street between Greenwich Avenue and Bleeker Street will be closed for the rally.

Refresh this page for live updates and photos from the rally as it happens.

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — Thousands of people are expected to flood the Stonewall National Monument on Saturday, where a city council member has organized an LGBT solidarity rally to protest Donald Trump's executive orders and cabinet nominees.

Council member Corey Johnson, who represents neighborhoods including Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Times Square, organized the rally "to speak out against Trump’s anti-LGBT nominees," according to a statement from his office. The rally will also protest the president's recent string of executive orders.

"We stand in solidarity with every immigrant, asylum seeker, refugee and every person impacted by Donald Trump's illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and un-American executive orders," organizers wrote on the rally's event page on Facebook. More than 9,000 people have said they're attending on Facebook, and dozens of groups throughout the city are co-sponsoring the event.

The Stonewall Inn was declared a national monument by Barack Obama in June. The 1969 police raid at the gay bar spurred the community to fight back, and helped launch the LGBT civil rights movement.

Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report.

Image Credit: Ciara McCarthy/Patch