Another night of nationwide protests against Donald Trump's
election came to a head in Portland, where thousands marched and some smashed
store windows, lit firecrackers and sparked a dumpster blaze. Police termed the
protest a riot and used "less lethal munitions" to help clear the streets.
Some 4,000 protesters surged into the downtown area late
Thursday night with chants like "we reject the president-elect!"
Officers began physically pushing back against the crowd
that at times threw objects at them as midnight approached, arresting several
people and using flash-bang devices and types of smoke or tear gas to force
people to disperse.
After several orders to leave, police said officers used
"less lethal munitions," such as pepper spray and rubber projectiles.
Live video footage showed officers firing what appeared to be the non-lethal
items. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was hit.
Protest number continued to dwindle through the night and as
the early morning hours wore on, police announced to remaining clusters of
protesters to immediately disperse or be "subject to arrest and the use of
riot-control agents." Police said they made 26 arrests.
President-elect Donald Trump fired back on social media and
seems to have a change of heart about those protesting the election results.
Late Thursday night, Trump went on Twitter to take on the
protesters. Trump tweets: "Just had a very open and successful
presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are
protesting. Very unfair!"
Trump went on Twittter again early Friday morning to post a
message with a different tone: "Love the fact that the small groups of
protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come
together and be proud!"
Around the country from New York to Chicago to California,
hundreds of demonstrators marched through streets, many for the third straight
night though in somewhat smaller numbers.
In Denver, protesters managed to shut down Interstate 25
near downtown Denver briefly Thursday night. Police said demonstrators made
their way onto the freeway and traffic was halted in the northbound and
southbound lanes for about a half-hour. Protesters also briefly shut down
interstate highways in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
In San Francisco's downtown, high-spirited high school
students marched through, chanting "not my president" and holding
signs urging a Donald Trump eviction. They waved rainbow banners and Mexican
flags, as bystanders in the heavily Democratic city high-fived the marchers
from the sidelines.
"As a white, queer person, we need unity with people of
color, we need to stand up," said Claire Bye, a 15-year-old sophomore at
Academy High School. "I'm fighting for my rights as an LGBTQ person. I'm
fighting for the rights of brown people, black people, Muslim people."
In New York City, a large group of demonstrators once again
gathered outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue Thursday night. They chanted angry
slogans and waved banners baring anti-Trump messages.
"You got everything straight up and down the
line," demonstrator David Thomas said. "You got climate change, you
got the Iran deal. You got gay rights, you got mass deportations. Just
everything, straight up and do
In Philadelphia, protesters near City Hall held signs
bearing slogans like "Not Our President," ''Trans Against Trump"
and "Make America Safe For All."
About 500 people turned out at a protest in Louisville,
Kentucky and in Baltimore, hundreds of people marched to the stadium where the
Ravens were playing a football game.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside Trump Tower in
Chicago and a growing group was getting into some shoving matches with police
in Oakland, California.
Mostly peaceful protests also surged again in Los Angles.
City News Service reported that dozens of protesters were arrested around
midnight when they refused to budge from an area.
As expected, the demonstrations prompted some social media
blowback from Trump supporters accusing protesters of sour grapes or worse,
though there were no significant counter-protests.
Trump supporters said the protesters were not respecting the
democratic process.
As of Thursday, Democrat Hillary Clinton was leading Trump
in votes nationwide 47.7 percent to 47.5 percent, but Trump secured victory in
the Electoral College.
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