The event outside the White House hadn’t been billed as much – come up to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. with some print outs of “This land is our land” and join the choir. Apparently singing, not hollering out your objections to the president’s immigration plan would be the order of the day. But when my wife and I arrived at the start of the protest it was pretty clear that Woody Guthrie was not going to be headlining the program.

Instead, a restless, passionate crowd had come to make some noise. “No ban, no wall!” “Refugees are welcome here!” “This is what democracy looks like!” were some of the chants echoing across Pennsylvania that afternoon. This in response to what was happening only a stone’s throw away in the White House, which was starting to look a lot like what democracy had become.

Still, despite the protester passions, the event felt constrained, especially to anyone who regularly pounds the D.C. protest circuit, which included the previous week’s 1/2-million strong women’s march. A temporary fence, presumably put up as workers disassembled the remnants of the recent inaugural parade, prevented protesters from getting too close to the White House. And given the short notice provided by organizers of the goings on, protest signs looked hastily prepared and thought out.

So after about 30 minutes of mulling about and with an ever-growing crowd of protesters beginning to stretch down Pennsylvania Ave. and 15th streets. the mood became restless. It was increasingly clear the gathered weren’t going to limit themselves to a patch of road barely visible from the White House.

The chant began quietly, and at first was almost inaudible: “March to the Capitol”. But once the crowd realized what was being proposed the momentum was irreversible. One way or another the group was going to Congress. Starting at an almost glacial pace the crowd started to move down 15th and east along Pennsylvania Ave – “American’s Main Street” – and a symbolic link between the executive and legislative branches.

It’s still not clear to me whether the road closures and been prearranged. If they did it was news to me and likely most of the protesters. We had been led to believe the event would be limited to the area around the White House. Yet here we were, marching toward the Capitol Building with police blockades set up along the route to clear the way.

Appropriately one of the first landmarks along the route was the Old Post Office Pavilion and Clock Tower, now Trump International Hotel. Trump has refused to divest himself of this or any of his financial holdings and protesters were not afraid of letting it be known what they thought of this blatant conflict of interest and constitutionally questionable decision. Echoing a scene in Game of Thrones where Cersei Lannister is paraded naked through the streets of King’s Landing to atone for her sins, protesters repeatedly chanted “shame, shame, shame…”

Further down Pennsylvania Ave. the FBI building drew a more muted response – the law enforcement agency arguably played a role in getting the new president elected but now could possibly be called upon to scrutinize the executive and his team. This contrasted with their reaction to the nearby Newseum, another iconic structure along the protest route. With the First Amendment etched into the building facade, passing marchers roared their approval.

The Canadian Embassy – one of the last buildings on Pennsylvania Ave before the road merges with Constitution Ave – drew a chorus of approval from protesters. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau responded to the president’s immigration order by stressing our northern neighbor’s support of its generous immigration policies, and its ongoing support for Syrian refugees. A few signs implored Trudeau to become president.

As we approached Constitution it was unclear whether the march would have anywhere to go. But it continued.

With a slight detour along Louisiana Ave. (which didn’t last long as marchers eventually broke through the barricades along Constitution before 1st Ave.) the group, now estimated to be ~10,000 approached the Capitol Building.  “Whose house? Our house!” joined the refrain as marchers advanced on the national legislative body.

The group congregated on the east side of the Capitol Building within earshot of both Congress and the Supreme Court. As marchers streamed into the grounds, they limited their chants to just one – “Do your job!”