Anti-Trump protests swell outside Parliament during debate on official visit

Thousands of protesters rallied outside the British Parliament as the governing body debated whether it would invite President Trump for an official state visit.

About 7,000 protesters had gathered at Parliament Square on Monday evening, Reuters reported.

Inside Parliament, the House of Commons debated two petitions on whether the Trump should be invited for an official state visit to the United Kingdom. One of the petitions had 1.85 million signatures and called for such a visit to be blocked. The other, asking for the visit to continue as planned, had 311,000 signatures.

CNN reported the protesters outside Parliament were mainly concerned by Trump’s executive order temporarily blocking visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. That order was temporarily halted by a federal appeals court and a new version is expected from the administration this week. Protesters held signs reading “Resist Facisim” and “No to Racism” Monday evening.

A banner at the protest against a State Visit by Donald Trump in Parliament Square, London pic.twitter.com/Nn3K7EXwm8

— Saina Behnejad (@SainaBehnejad) February 20, 2017

At one point during their debate, one member had to pause because her colleagues said her voice was drowned out by the protesters outside.

{mosads}Other protests occurred throughout the United Kingdom, though the largest was held at Parliament Square.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was the first foreign leader to visit the White House after Trump’s inauguration.

Updated 5:50 p.m.