#NotMyPresident Protests Break Out Over Trump Election

10 Nov, 2016

Nationwide demonstrations against the election of Donald Trump spilled into a second night Thursday with thousands of protesters surrounding his buildings in New York and Chicago and clashing with supporters of the president-elect in some areas.

Condemning Trump’s litany of crude comments about women and his attacks on immigrants, demonstrators marched along city streets, blocked intersections, burned effigies and, in some places, gathered outside buildings bearing Trump’s name.

“Not my president,” chanted some of the protesters, while others waved signs with the same message.

Portland police said that the protests in the city had turned into a “riot” punishable as a “Class C Felony” late Thursday. The department had earlier warned that some drivers were being attacked during the demonstrations and advised protesters to stop the use of “illegal fire devices.”

“Due to extensive criminal and dangerous behavior, protest is now considered a riot. Crowd has been advised,” the police officials said in a Twitter post.

The protests earned recriminations from Trump, who met with President Obama at the White House Thursday morning, “Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!,” Trump said on Twitter.

It was his first comment about the protests and one of few statements he has made since claiming victory over Hillary Clinton early Wednesday morning. In 2012, after Obama was elected to a second term, Trump tweeted: “We can’t let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!”

At least 100 people were arrested Wednesday night during the first wave of national protests, according to police officials, most of them at one in New York. While most of the demonstrations remained peaceful, police in Oakland, Calif., said a rally there turned violent when some in the massive crowd injured three police officers by throwing rocks and fireworks at them

The unrest underscored the fractures in a country that awoke Wednesday to learn that Trump had pulled off an unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, and more were planned for the weekend.

Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim U.S. Army soldier killed in Iraq who has been an outspoken critic of the president-elect, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that protests are “indicative of how many people have been intimidated, how many people feel that their rights have not been fully guaranteed” because of Trump’s campaign rhetoric.

“We appeal to the surrogates of Donald Trump and to him, himself, that he needs to take the first step to make sure that the concerns that are being addressed,” said Khan, who added: “They’re attacking Muslims. Muslim women, snatching their head scarves in New York, in Louisiana, in Los Angeles. Mosques are being attacked by people throwing things. And that needs to stop.”

Demonstrations started early Wednesday in the biggest U.S. cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — and flared in places from Portland and Seattle to Philadelphia and Richmond, along with cities in red states such as Atlanta, Dallas, Omaha and Kansas City, Mo. But they continued Thursday evening, spreading to Baltimore where police said about 600 “anti-trump” protesters marched to the downtown area and blocked streets. Two protesters, they said, were held but not charged.

Most of the major demonstrations took place in urban centers in blue states Clinton won Tuesday, highlighting the demographic divide that shaped the election results.

Clinton’s apparent narrow victory in the popular vote, coupled with her loss in the electoral tally, spurred demonstrators in New York to chant, “She got more votes!” as thousands massed in front of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan Wednesday night. The crowd stretched several blocks down Fifth Avenue.

Before that, protesters had marched from Union Square to Trump’s building, chanting, “Donald Trump, go away! Sexist, racist, anti-gay!”

At one point, demonstrators lit an American flag on fire. Later, amid a cacophony of loud chants, a glowing “Love Trumps Hate” banner was held aloft under the Trump Tower sign. The singer Cher mingled in the crowd, doling out hugs.

Police in New York said about 65 people were arrested during the first night of protests, mostly for disorderly conduct or resisting arrest.

On Thursday, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) called the people protesting “a bunch of spoiled crybabies.”

“We’re bringing up a generation of spoiled crybabies,” Giuliani, a Trump adviser who has been touted as a possible attorney general, said in an interview on Fox News. Apparently referencing protests happening around college campuses, Giuliani said: “Most of the kids aren’t crying. Most of the kids are going to class.”

At one point Wednesday night, a protester in Los Angeles was interviewed on CNN and spoke about how “there will be casualties on both sides,” language that was condemned by Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s campaign manager.

In Florida, Trump supporters spilled out of an Irish bar Thursday to confront the hundreds of protesters making their way through the brick-paved district of Ybor City, the historic epicenter of the Cuban community in Tampa. Some of the Trump supporters, still holding their beers, stood within inches of the protesters, shouting “USA, USA.” Other hurled vulgarities at the crowd.

In Oakland, police said the crowd of demonstrators eventually grew to about 7,000 people Wednesday and began to splinter into smaller groups, some of which vandalized buildings.

As things became more heated, police said, they used devices releasing tear gas several times. In addition to the three police officers who were injured, three police cars from nearby Pleasanton, Calif. — one of many cities that sent officers to help respond — were damaged, officials said.

Authorities reported 16 cases of vandalism, including graffiti and looting, and said there were “numerous trash fires in the streets.” (About 40 fires were extinguished by police and fire officials.) Police said they arrested 30 people and issued an additional 11 citations for vandalism, unlawful assembly and assault on an officer.

In Los Angeles, thousands of protesters filled the streets, including some who burned a giant papier-mache Trump head in front of City Hall and others who spray-painted profanity on the Los Angeles Times building and on vehicles used by news organizations.

Hundreds of other protesters blocked two highways in the area, backing up traffic for miles.

In Chicago, police said about 1,800 people has demonstrated outside of Trump Tower Wednesday. On Thursday, the protests started small, but grew to several hundred people, who marched through downtown streets, stopping traffic for more than two hours.

MoveOn.org, a liberal group, had called on people to gather in cities nationwide. Ben Wikler, MoveOn’s Washington director, said that people had registered to organize events in 275 cities and communities across the country, noting that many were candlelight vigils and group discussions rather than the sprawling marches seen in New York and Chicago.

“A lot of people reacted to the election results with a kind of plodding feeling, like they wanted to curl up under their desks or hide under their sheets,” Wikler said Thursday. “Just knowing that you’re not alone in this country is a powerful salve. And knowing there are people that want to continue to fight for a more perfect union is a source of strength at a moment that can feel very scary.”

Tensions ran particularly high on college campuses. At American University in Washington, students burned American flags, and some shouted, “F— white America!”

In Austin, students at the University of Texas led a march for hours through the city Wednesday afternoon. As hundreds of protesters wove into traffic, bus drivers high-fived the students. Some in their vehicles got out and hugged them, tears streaming down their faces.

During his victory speech early Wednesday, Trump spoke about reconciliation following the bitter campaign, saying that it was “time for America to bind the wounds of division.”

Later Wednesday, this tone was echoed by Clinton and President Obama, who said they were also disappointed after an Election Day that ended with Republicans in control of both the legislative and executive branches of government.

Clinton said the campaign showed that “our nation is more deeply divided that we thought,” but she told her supporters: “We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”

But the anger and grief that continued Thursday evening suggested that many fear what Trump’s election means going forward.

Washington Post

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