More than three million people marched through big cities and small towns across the nation the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration. These actions were unprecedented; they were the largest public actions against a sitting president in the history of the United States, and came on his first full day as president.

The actions, led by women, were not organized by mainstream political organizations and featured a patchwork of demands ranging from expansion of reproductive rights and an end to deportations. The three million participants included people from all over the political spectrum — from diehard Democratic Party loyalists, to anarchists and socialists. But most importantly, they included people who had never been politically activated.

These actions might be puzzling to some, even for people who are sympathetic to a show of force against the most unpopular recently elected American president. Why would you protest an elected official who has not even had the chance to do anything bad?