WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 20 (UPI) — Protests turned violent in Washington, D.C. — as well as other locations nationally — on Friday as President Donald Trump became commander in chief.
The demonstrations caused what police called “significant damage” in Washington, and injured at least two police officers.
“We had thousands of people who came to Washington, D.C., to peacefully demonstrate, but unfortunately we had a small group that wanted to disrupt the inauguration,” D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said.
“It’s disappointing to us that this had to happen.”
Dozens of people were arrested and will be charged with rioting. Many of the protests carried over from Thursday night.
Two police officers received minor injuries in scattered incidents, officials said.
Various protesters who identified themselves as anarchists, anti-capitalists, anti-fascists, as anti-Islamophobes, as well as members of Black Lives Matter, descended on the nation’s capital with a shared, anti-Trump purpose.
In some parts of Washington on Friday, protesters slowed down or stopped the advance of pro-Trump supporters seeking to enter the National Mall to observe the swearing-in.
“Shut it down!” some protesters, who identified themselves as members of Black Lives Matters and who temporarily shut down an entrance, said at a checkpoint in John Marshall Park, The Washington Post reported.
“Not my president” and “No Islamophobia” were some of the chants heard at some protest locations. Some signs read “Impeach the predatory president” and “No peaceful transition” — a reference to a democratic principle of a peaceful transition of power from one president to the next.
In once incident, a protester shouted, “This is what democracy looks like.” One Trump supporter responded, pointing at the National Mall in which thousands celebrated Trump’s electoral victory, saying “This is what democracy looks like but I can’t get to it because of you!”
“We drove 20 hours and now we can’t get in,” one Trump supporter said. “Everyone should have just brought guns and had it out, I’d be happy if they just dropped a bomb on them.”
In one violent incident, protesters smashed windows near Franklin Square in downtown Washington, D.C. The protests began on Thursday.
Other demonstrations were staged in other cities on Friday.
In San Francisco, several demonstrators were arrested for disrupting the peace. Eight were taken into custody for chaining themselves to the front doors of ridesharing company Uber headquarters — because its CEO, Travis Kalanick, is an adviser to Trump.
“As a company we’re committed to working with government on issues that affect riders, drivers and the cities where we operate,” the company replied in a statement. “Just as we worked with the Obama Administration, we’ll work with the Trump Administration, too.”
Protesters also interrupted public transit service in the city and the offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Anti-Trump sentiment reverberated around the globe. Hundreds demonstrated in downtown London at the U.S. embassy late Friday.
