Demonstrations\u00a0against the election of Donald Trump as president continued around the country early Friday, taking a decidedly violent turn in Portland, Ore., where police made several arrests after deeming the protests had turned into\u00a0a \u201criot\u201d punishable as a \u201cClass C Felony.\u201d
\u201cWe reject the president-elect,\u201d many of the demonstrators chanted as they marched through the streets. Elsewhere,\u00a0thousands\u00a0of protesters\u00a0surrounded Trump’s\u00a0buildings in New York and Chicago, clashing with supporters of the president-elect in some areas.
[ Violence erupts in Portland ‘riot’ as anti-Trump protests continue in cities across the nation ]
The protests earned recriminations from Trump, who met with President Obama at the White House Thursday morning, \u201cJust had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!,\u00a0\u00bb Trump said on Twitter.
It was his first comment about the protests and one of few statements he has made since claiming victory over\u00a0Hillary Clinton early Wednesday morning. In 2012, after Obama was elected to a second term, Trump tweeted : \u201cWe can’t let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!\u201d
Condemning Trump’s litany of crude comments about women and his attacks on immigrants, demonstrators across the country marched along city streets, blocked intersections, burned effigies and, in some places, gathered outside buildings bearing Trump’s\u00a0name.
\u201cNot my president,\u201d chanted some of the protesters, while others waved signs with\u00a0the same message.
While many demonstrations late Thursday were peaceful, the vandalism increased in Portland as the night wore on.
\u201cDue to extensive criminal and dangerous behavior, protest is now considered a riot. Crowd has been advised,\u201d Portland police officials said in a Twitter post late Thursday. The department earlier warned\u00a0that some drivers were being attacked during the demonstrations and advised protesters to stop the use of \u201cillegal fire devices.\u201d
Teressa Raiford, a community organizer in Portland, said what began as a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest was transformed into something more insidious due to demonstrators\u00a0not affiliated with the group.
\u201cThey\u2019re not coming to show solidarity, they\u2019re coming because they know there\u2019s going to be a big crowd,\u201d Raiford said. \u201cThey don\u2019t respect our movement.\u201d
Portland police said on Twitter that some protesters\u00a0trying to stop the property damage were being threatened by others. \u201cMany in crowd trying to get anarchist groups to stop destroying property, anarchists refusing,\u201d one tweet read. Another police tweet said: \u201cPolice advising crowd there are gas and flares being prepared by protestors. Please leave for your own safety.\u201d
They also issued several orders to disperse for \u201cunlawful assembly.\u201d
After several orders to disperse, police have used less lethal munitions to effect arrests and move the crowd. Ofcs still taking projectiles
\u2014 Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) November 11, 2016
Mike Bivins, a local freelance journalist, said the protest took a noticeable turn late Thursday as demonstrators passed a Northeast Portland car dealership, where some\u00a0starting breaking car windows. A dumpster and a newsstand were set on fire.
Bivins said a Black Lives Matter organizer at Pioneer Courthouse Square told demonstrators earlier in the day not to police \u201canyone else’s form of protest.\u201d
\u201cI guess he didn\u2019t think it would rise to this level,\u201d Bevins said.
Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim U. S. Army soldier killed in Iraq and\u00a0an outspoken critic of the president-elect, told CNN\u2019s Anderson Cooper that protests are \u201cindicative of how many people have been intimidated, how many people feel that their rights have not been fully guaranteed\u201d because of Trump’s campaign rhetoric.
\u201cWe 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,\u201d said Khan, who asserted\u00a0that Trump supporters are \u201cattacking Muslims \u2014 Muslim women, snatching their headscarves in New York, in Louisiana, in Los Angeles. Mosques are being attacked by people throwing things. And that needs to stop.\u201d
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\u00a0in Oakland, Calif., said a rally there turned violent\u00a0when 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.
Demonstrations started early\u00a0Wednesday\u00a0in the biggest U. S. cities \u2014 New York, Los Angeles and Chicago \u2014 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 \u201canti-trump\u201d 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\u00a0the 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, \u201cShe got more votes!\u201d 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, \u201cDonald Trump, go away! Sexist, racist, anti-gay!\u201d
Protesters refusing to move as NYPD advances. pic.twitter.com\/6gzj7KjzGC
\u2014 Scott Bixby (@scottbix) November 10, 2016
At one point, demonstrators lit an American flag on fire. Later, amid a cacophony of loud chants, a glowing \u201cLove Trumps Hate\u201d 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\u00a0protests, mostly for disorderly conduct or resisting arrest.
People in Trump’s circle said they were monitoring the unrest\u00a0and had expected such activity after the election:
Trump World is watching the protests tonight. Most of them, especially the populist-types around him, expected this, now and next year.
\u2014 Robert Costa (@costareports) November 10, 2016
On Thursday, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) called the people protesting \u201ca bunch of spoiled crybabies.\u201d
\u201cWe’re bringing up a generation of spoiled crybabies,\u201d 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: \u201cMost\u00a0of the kids aren’t crying. Most of the kids are going to class.\u201d
At one point Wednesday night, a protester in Los Angeles was interviewed on CNN and spoke about how \u201cthere will be casualties on both sides,\u201d language that was condemned by Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s campaign manager.
Not cool. @POTUS or Hillary should address. ‘People Have to Die’: Anti-Trump Protester Calls For Violence on CNN https:\/\/t.co\/NfEqhkrTvu
\u2014 Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) November 10, 2016
In Florida, Trump supporters spilled out of an Irish bar Thursday to confront the\u00a0hundreds of protesters making\u00a0their 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 \u201cUSA, USA.\u201d Other hurled\u00a0vulgarities at the crowd.
Local police swarmed the area to separate the groups.
Nearby, a retired Marine Corps corporal, Kyle Mullinax, stood at attention as protesters walked by. The protesters\u00a0are \u201cstupid,\u201d he said.
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. \u2014\u00a0one of many cities that sent officers to help respond \u2014 were damaged, officials said.
Authorities reported 16 cases of vandalism, including graffiti and looting, and said there were \u201cnumerous trash fires in the streets. \u00a0\u00bb (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.
[ What does Trump’s victory say about the country? ]
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.
Protest is now on the 101. CHP is starting to move in pic.twitter.com\/njlaqRB3zJ
\u2014 James Queally (@JamesQueallyLAT) November 10, 2016
In Chicago, police said about 1,800 people has demonstrated outside of Trump Tower Wednesday. On Thursday, the protests started small, but grew\u00a0to several hundred people, who marched through downtown streets, stopping traffic for more than two hours.
Jessica Orman, 24, from Chicago, said she is dismayed by the people who voted for Trump and feels that her future is on the line. \u201cI see people differently now. I don’t smile at people on the street anymore. Because you never know,\u201d she said.
\u201cI’m so jaded, but we have to fight. We have to protest. I can vote because people protested. I can be on the pill because people protested. Gay people have rights because people protested,\u201d she said.
Orman currently earns\u00a0about the minimum wage and said she had\u00a0hoped that if elected Hillary Clinton would raise the minimum wage. Now, she said, her financial prospects could get worse.\u00a0 \u201cThe economy could go belly up.\u201d
[ For Democrats, a power outage in Washington and an identity crisis ]
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.
\u201cA 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,\u201d Wikler said Thursday. \u201cJust 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.\u201d
Tensions ran particularly high on college campuses. At American University in Washington, students burned American flags, and some shouted, \u201cF— white America!\u201d
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.
\u201cSeeing this is everything,\u201d said Jennifer Rowsey, 47, as the march passed by a coffee shop next to Austin City Hall, where she is the human resource manager. \u201cI felt so isolated,\u201d she said. \u201cI don’t feel so alone now.\u201d
[ Trump maps out a new administration to bring a seismic shift to Washington ]
Austin City Council member Greg Casar, the son of Mexican immigrants and a community organizer, joined the protesters when they passed him while he was giving an interview to local media.
\u201cA lot of people are calling for healing,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we should reject that.\u201d
He said that now is the time to support protesters, strikers and those engaged in other forms of civil disobedience. Casar said that if Trump comes to Austin, he will refuse to shake his hand. \u201cIf I have to go to jail\u201d for protesting, he said, \u201cI’ll go to jail.\u201d
Many protesters who turned out said they were fearful that Trump would follow through with his pledge to deport undocumented immigrants.
\u201cI just felt waking up today that I was waking up to a whole new world, to a nightmare for my parents and people I care about and love,\u201d said Tony, a 23-year-old line cook who declined to give his last name as he marched in Chicago, carrying his 6-year-old daughter on his shoulders.
\u201cThere’s so much heartache,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s a bad time to be a Muslim or an illegal citizen in this country.\u201d
In Santa Ana., Calif., Lucy Dominguez, 37, and her husband, Oliver Lopez, 33, had their arms around one another and held a sign reading, \u201cPeace.\u201d
\u201cI came to stand up with the people. To stand up with my people, the Latino community,\u201d she said. \u201cI chose the peace sign because we need peace in this moment.\u201d
During his victory speech early Wednesday, Trump spoke about reconciliation following the bitter campaign, saying that it was \u201ctime for America to bind the wounds of division.\u201d
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\u00a0showed that \u201cour nation is more deeply divided that we thought,\u201d but she told her supporters: \u201cWe owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.\u201d
But the anger and grief that continued Thursday evening suggested that many\u00a0fear what Trump’s election means going forward.
In Philadelphia, an estimated 1,000 protesters filled the streets chanting slogans such as \u201cWe reject the president-elect,\u201d and \u201chands too small, can\u2019t build a wall.\u201d Police on bicycles moved with the throngs, who remained peaceful as they choked the streets of Center City.
\u201cI feel very dark about the future,\u201d said Janette Chien, 27, of Philadelphia, who voted for Hillary Clinton.
Chien , a first-generation immigrant whose parents were born in China, said Trump\u2019s hostility toward immigrants troubled her. Since Tuesday\u2019s election, Chien \u00a0said watching her like-minded friends meltdown on Facebook has been grueling.
\u201cIt\u2019s just been horrible and exhausting,\u201d\u00a0said Chien,\u00a0who works in afterschool programs with children. \u201cWe need to fight. If we don\u2019t do anything, it\u2019s just going to continue this way.\u201d
Leah Sottile reported from Portland;\u00a0Kari Lydersen reported from Chicago; Nick Romeo in Berkeley, Calif.; Eva Ruth Moravec in Austin; Katie Zezima in Santa Ana, Calif.; Les Neuhaus from Tampa; Bobby Allyn in Philadelphia; Philip Bump, Ryan Carey-Mahoney, Kayla Epstein, Renae Merle and Anne Gearan in New York; and Fenit Nirappil and Juliet Eilperin in Washington contributed to this report, which has been updated since it was published.\u00a0
Further reading:
\u201cSomething is happening,\u201d Trump said. He was right.
Trump meets with Obama at the White House as whirlwind transition starts<\/p>\n

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