Crowds gather at Supreme Court to remember Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The mourners began arriving at the Supreme Court minutes after word broke that Ginsburg had died Friday at age 87.

Each of the bollards protecting the courthouse supported a mourner slumped to the ground. It was quiet, and an occasional breeze brushed the American flag, which had been lowered to half-staff in honor of the late justice.

By 9:30 p.m., the crowd had swelled to at least 1,000, and more would stream in to pay their respects. The mourners were all of ages, including baby boomers and millennials, and some faces even younger.

Elizabeth LaBerge wrapped her arms around her fiance, Will Sullivan, laid her head on his shoulder and quietly sobbed.

The Capitol Hill lawyer arrived at the court plaza filled with fear for the future of the nation as Ginsburg’s death represents another loss from the ranks of people who have made “serious law and order a mission of their lives.”

“I was telling my fiance, the question that keeps popping up in my head is, ‘Who is going to take care of us?’ ” LaBerge, 36, said in an interview. “It just feels like such a deep loss at this particular time. It’s a lot to put on a woman of her age to keep us safe and functioning as a constitutional democracy.”

“I’m very grateful, and sad for the loss and worried for my country,” she said.

At one point, with a crowd singing “This Land is Our Land,” Adrienne Jacobs clutched a friend, who sobbed into Jacobs’s shoulder so hard that her glasses fogged up.

When Jacobs, 30, heard that Ginsburg had died, she raced over to the Supreme Court, a Revel scooter helmet in her arms.

“I live alone,” she said. “And I didn’t want to be alone.”

From behind a floral print mask, Jacobs said Ginsburg had been an inspiration to many women.

As she spoke, a commotion began near the sidewalk, where conservative provocateurs Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were arguing with a small crowd.

“Roe v. Wade is getting abolished,” Wohl said into a microphone as a man waved a cardboard “RIP RBG” sign in Wohl’s face and television cameras gathered. “RBG is dead. We’re going to have a new justice next week.”

“Have some respect,” several mourners shouted. Others called Wohl a “fascist” or a “Nazi” and told him to leave.

After five tense minutes he did.

The scene was once again solemn.

Elsewhere outside the court building, Regina Burch and her daughter sat on the edge of one of the two white marble fountains, staring up at the illuminated columns. They had been at home when Burch received a text message about Ginsburg’s death. They’d flipped on the television, heard Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promise to fill her seat and decided to drive over.

“I need to be in a place where I can be heard,” Burch said. “I thought that maybe gathering will show —.”

“That we’re adamant about this,” said her 19-year-old daughter, Micaela, finishing her mother’s thought. “Her seat can never be replaced, but we hope someone like-minded fills it.”

Regina Burch said that as a law professor and attorney, she had long looked up to Ginsburg.

“I had respect for her as a lawyer, as a legal theorist, as a Supreme Court justice and as a woman who accomplished many, many firsts,” she said.

Burch, who is African American, said she felt that the country was going backward.

“I think it’s becoming more difficult instead of less,” she said, “and less just instead of more.”

She, her daughter and their family were worried about what would happen if the president appointed his choice to the court.

“It’s not just her passing,” Burch said. “Our family is very anxious and fearful about what’s going to happen, with the election and filling her seat.”

As they spoke, a sprig of lavender in Burch’s hand and a white candle in Micaela’s, a man nearby began blowing on a shofar, three blasts stunning the crowd to momentary silence.

Paul Zermeno, 57, said the biblical instrument was meant to “dispel evil forces and bring the glory of God down.”

“There are a lot of hurting people,” he said, placing his shofar into a velvet bag.

“Friend, bless you,” said a stranger, placing a hand on Zermeno’s shoulder.

Howard University first-year law student Quenessa Long, 24, arrived with classmates to pay respects and to be in the same space that Ginsburg once occupied. The justice was among the leaders who inspired Long to pursue law studies because of her dedication to the LGBTQ community and to women and civil rights. Long, a native of Tacoma, Wash., said she deeply admired the strength Ginsburg showed in the courtroom and beyond.

Long said that being in the crowd motivated her and that she hoped perhaps she could work at the court in some capacity during her legal career.

“I’m just really thankful to have been alive while she was,” she said.

Petula Dvorak contributed to this report.