From the NFL National Anthem to Charlottesville, millions turned out to demand political change in the US in 2017. Here are the protests Americans Googled most.
In January, around half a million people took to the streets for the Women's March on Washington, DC.
Stories about the march's mission, pink "pussy hats," clever signage, and big-name attendees flooded Google News, and captivated the nation.
The Women's March was just one of several protests — on all sides of the political spectrum — that made headlines in 2017. As the year comes to a close, Google is looking back on the top searches (i.e. terms that had the highest spike in traffic this year compared to 2016) in the US over the past 12 months.
Here are the the top 10 protests people wanted to know about:
10. The May Day protests
Immigrant groups planned rallies nationwide on this year's May Day. The rallies and protests in major cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, drew tens of thousands of people.
The goal was to stand up against President Donald Trump's anti-immigration platform and policies.
9. The Women's March on Washington
The day after Trump's inauguration, an estimated 500,000 people attended the Women's March on Washington. Several other cities around the US and world held their own marches.
According to the DC organizers, the march's goal was to stand up for equality for all groups, especially women, LGBT folks, people of color, immigrants, and those with disabilities.
8. The Venezuelan protests
Venezuela is facing ongoing protests, which began in early 2017 after the arrest of multiple opposition leaders and after the country's Supreme Court dissolved Parliament and transferred all legislative powers to itself.
Protestors (known as opposition activists) argue that the move signals the erosion of democracy in Venezuela. They also attribute the country's high levels of inflation and chronic scarcity of basic resources to corruption in Venezuela's government, led by President Nicolas Maduro.
7. Various protests that occurred in Washington, DC
As the nation's capital, DC is a natural place for people to demand political change.
In 2017, people often Googled "DC protest" to learn more about the various political groups that organized there. Some of these protests included an LGBT equality march, a series of DACA marches, a pro-Trump rally, and the March for Black Women (aka the March for Racial Equality).
6. The airport protests
In late January, tens of thousands of people in over 80 US airports protested Trump's first travel ban, which would have temporarily barred refugees and immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries.
Two federal judges blocked Trump's second iteration of the ban on March 15.
5. The St. Louis protests
In September, Jason Stockley, a white police officer on trial for murder in the shooting death of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith, was acquitted in St. Louis, Missouri.
On the third of 16 days of protests, more than 120 people were arrested when a small group attacked police, broke windows, and flipped over trash cans, according to authorities. The next day, peaceful protesters locked arms on Market Street, a few blocks from the site of the previous night's violence.
The rallies continued throughout October and then again on November 24, when around 50 protestors attempted to disrupt Black Friday sales at the St. Louis Galleria mall.
4. The University of California, Berkeley protests
On 11 instances in February, March, April, August, and September, there were clashes between pro-Trump demonstrators (including the alt-right, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis) and anti-Trump counter-protestors (including socialists, anarchists, and Antifa members) in Berkeley, California.
The first protest happened when media personality and Trump supporter Milo Yiannopoulos was set to deliver a speech at the University of California, Berkeley. Further protests occurred due to pro-Trump rallies, and after the university cancelled a speech by conservative commentator Ann Coulter and struck down a "Free Speech Week."
3. The Boston Free Speech rally
In August in Boston, Massachusetts, a group planned a rally that aimed to "defend freedom of speech." The ralliers identified as members of the "alt-lite," a loosely organized, far-right group comprised of people who oppose mainstream conservatism to varying degrees.
The event ended up attracting fewer rally attendees than counter-protestors, who argued that hate speech should not be tolerated.
Another far-right protest, met by over 100 counter-protestors, was held in the same location in November.
2. The Charlottesville protests
In August, a group of white nationalists held a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. It turned violent when a driver plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters and killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Four days later, a crowd held a peaceful vigil in the wake of the violence.
Carrying lit torches, a white nationalist group later reappeared in Charlottesville in October. Just like the summer before, demonstrators chanted "You will not replace us!" and that the South would "rise again."
1. The NFL national anthem protests
Colin Kaepernick, an NFL quarterback who doesn't play for a specific team, spurred a wave of protests that prompted a series of reactionary tweets from President Trump. In September 2016, instead of putting his hand over his heart during the national anthem, Kaepernick kneeled to protest police brutality against people of color and to promote racial equality.
Throughout the 2017 season, other NFL players did the same.