For the third day in a row since Donald J. Trump was elected president, thousands of people took part in protests that bloomed across the country, venting their frustration at the election results.
In Miami, protesters shook signs and chanted during a demonstration on Friday evening, blocking the causeway that connects the city’s downtown and South Beach. In Madison, Wis., they interrupted commuters near the University of Wisconsin. Near Iowa City, theyblocked traffic on a section of Interstate 80.
In Portland, Ore., the police reported a shooting around 1 a.m. Saturday at a bridge that had been blocked by demonstrators. Witnesses said a protester had been shot in the leg after an altercation with a car full of people, who they said were angry about traffic being stalled. The police released a description of a suspect, who they said had fled.
Demonstrators also marched in Atlanta, rushing over a bridge to block a highway. Later in the evening, a flag was set alight in front of theGeorgia Capitol, as protesters referenced Mr. Trump’s campaign slogan, chanting “America was never great,” while accompanied by a steady drumbeat.
They protested in Tempe, Ariz., and Orlando, Fla., in Raleigh, N.C., andOlympia, Wash. Shouts of “Not my president” and chants declaring “We don’t accept the president-elect” rang out over Sixth Avenue in Manhattan as a crowd began to march uptown toward Trump Tower, the home of the president-elect. Late Friday night, the New York Police Department said that 11 people had been arrested for disorderly conduct.
Earlier in Washington Square Park, which is surrounded by the buildings of New York University, a crowd alternated between chants of protest and words of encouragement for one another. Near a bench off the center of the park, an eerie plastic mannequin that was missing its head had been abandoned. Pinned to its chest was a Post-it note, on which was written “NOT MY PRESIDENT,” with a heart in the bottom right corner.
Not all of the protests were directed toward the results of the election.
A reporter in Wichita, Kan., clarified that a small protest in the city was not being called an anti-Trump protest, but instead a “call to action moving forward.”
In many cities, hundreds of protesters gathered on the streets. But shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, for the most part, the demonstrators had been peaceful and orderly, mostly creating traffic snarls for commuters and not much else.
The relative quiet in the early evening was a contrast from the night before, when protests were more heavily attended in some places and became chaotic in Portland. There, the police arrested more than two dozen people and characterized the protest as a riot because of “extensive criminal and dangerous behavior.” Portland’s police were out in greater force on Friday night, deploying gas and pepper spray as they faced off with more than 1,000 demonstrators before the shooting on the bridge.
Thursday’s demonstrations led Mr. Trump to Twitter, where he protested the protesters.
The next morning, the president-elect seemed to reconsider. “Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country,” he said. “We will all come together and be proud!”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment