Rage over US election result spills onto streets

Thousands of protesters against US President-elect Donald Trump shut down 5th Avenue in front of the Trump Tower building in New York City on November 9, 2016 as they react to his election as president. PHOTO | SPENCER PLATT | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Outside Trump’s residence in Trump Tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue, protesters gathered with signs reading “Dump Trump”. Police said they had arrested 15 people, The New York Times reported.

  • Protesters playing a game of cat and mouse with police blocked a major highway near downtown Los Angeles in a demonstration that continued into the wee hours of Thursday, bringing traffic to a standstill.

WASHINGTON, Thursday

Protesters burnt a giant orange-haired head of Donald Trump in effigy, lit fires in the streets and blocked traffic as rage over the billionaire’s election victory spilled onto the streets of major cities in the United States.

From New York to Los Angeles, thousands of people in around 10 cities rallied late Wednesday against the US president-elect a day after his stunning win, some carrying signs declaiming “Not our President” and “Love trumps hate”.

Most of the rallies were peaceful.

Outside Trump’s residence in Trump Tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue, protesters gathered with signs reading “Dump Trump”. Police said they had arrested 15 people, the New York Times reported.

Protesters playing a game of cat and mouse with police blocked a major highway near downtown Los Angeles in a demonstration that continued into the wee hours of Thursday, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Police arrested 13 people, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Demonstrators outside Los Angeles City Hall also hoisted a giant, box-shaped likeness of Trump’s head, topped with bright orange hair, and set it ablaze.

In Washington, several hundred gathered in front of the White House for a candlelit vigil to decry what they called Trump’s racism, sexism and xenophobia, carrying signs reading “We have a voice!” and “Education for all!”

Protesters also gathered outside the Trump International Hotel in the nation’s capital and shouted “Impeach Donald Trump”.

“People are justly frightened,” said one of its organisers, Ben Wikler, director of the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org.

“We are here because, in these darkest moments, we are not alone,” he told the crowd, before leading chants of “We are not alone!”

ALSO HELD

Protests were also held in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Portland. In Oakland, California, some 7,000 people, by police estimates, lit fires in the street and stood around them chanting. Some threw bottles and firecrackers at police, and several officers were injured, police spokeswoman Johnna Watson told CNN.

She said two police cars also were burned.

Racism and misogyny

Ethan Miller of the workers’ rights group Jobs with Justice said the Washington vigil was meant to show that civil society was resilient.

“It’s a hard time for a lot of Americans,” he told AFP. “We saw a campaign that was filled with racism and misogyny and a whole host of other terrible tactics that ultimately were successful for winning the electoral college.”

“But we’re not going to let a Donald Trump presidency stop the progress in this country.”

In New York, demonstrators holding signs saying “Love Trumps Hate” and “Trump Grabbed America by the Pu**y!” marched uptown from Union Square to chant in front of Trump Tower.

“The electoral college is broken,” protester Nicholas Forker said of the US indirect voting system. “I think it definitely needs to be reformed...”

In Chicago, several thousand people gathered around another Trump Tower, blocking downtown traffic. A counter-protest gathered on the other side of the building.

Across the country, high school and college students also staged campus demonstrations and walkouts from classes.

In Oregon, demonstrators blocked traffic in downtown Portland, forcing a delay on two light-rail lines.