Tax march: Protesters in Philly call on Trump to release tax returns

Protesters chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, corporate greed has got to go" marched in Center City on Saturday, calling for President Trump to release his tax returns.

With a 10-foot inflatable chicken leading the march -- perched on the bed of a gray Chevrolet pickup truck -- a crowd estimated by a police inspector at 2,000 peacefully marched down Market Street from City Hall to Independence Mall.

To the sounds of drums beating and tambourines clashing, the protesters chanted along with march leader Devan Spear, 21, a University of Pennsylvania senior and an organizer with the Penn Student Labor Action Project, as she yelled into a microphone, "Donald, show us what you paid!" and "No more secrets, no more lies! Show your taxes, show your ties!"

The Tax March Philly rally was one of about 150 planned nationwide for April 15, which is traditionally Tax Day. (This year, though, Tax Day has been pushed back to April 18 as the deadline for the filing of taxes.)

Gwen Snyder, executive director of Philadelphia Jobs With Justice, which organized the march, has said the chicken symbolizes that Trump is "chicken" for not releasing his income tax returns.

The chicken, made in China, is a replica of a giant rooster statue that resembled Trump and was made to celebrate the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese lunar calendar. The rooster was such a hit that the Chinese manufacturer then created inflatable "Trump chicken" replicas, the New York Times has reported.

Participants in Saturday's march first gathered at 10 a.m. at Thomas Paine Plaza, across from City Hall, where many held signs calling for the president to release his returns. 

Ralliers also called for economic justice and decried corporate greed. Nijmie Dzurinko, of the health care-oriented group Put People First!, who gave opening remarks, told those gathered at Thomas Paine Plaza:  "People are angry that billionaires are mooching off the system."

Marchers then headed with a police escort around City Hall, then down Market Street toward People's Plaza, at Fifth and Market Streets on Independence Mall, where more speakers rallied the crowd.

Her friend Dorothy Maurer, 49, of King of Prussia, added: "I believe he's flat-out lying to us and he's hiding something in his taxes, and the American people need to see it."

Her orange sign read: "I SHOWED YOU MINE NOW YOU SHOW ME YOURS!"

See tweets from the Philadelphia event:

This article contains information from the Associated Press.