UPDATED 7:41 p.m. ET: Police arrested 217 people after violent protests broke out in Washington D.C. following Donald Trump’s inauguration, CNN reports. Six police officers were injured.
Original story below:
Nearly 100 people were arrested after violent protests broke out in Washington D.C., following Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on Friday, January 20. Find out more in the video above, and detailed below.
According to the Associated Press, peaceful activists carried signs near security checkpoints close to the Capitol. However, police intervened when protestors began to smash windows of downtown businesses.
Reuters reports that other masked protestors used hammers to destroy pavement and the crowd chanted “Make Racists Afraid Again,” a take on Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
The confrontation began an hour after Trump, 70, was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Per CNN, 95 people had been arrested as of 2 p.m. ET.
“Pepper spray and other control devices were used to control the criminal actors and protect persons and property,” police said in a statement. “During the incident, police vehicles were damaged and two uniformed officers sustained minor injuries from coordinated attacks by members of the group that were attempting to avoid arrest.”
Protests against the mogul haven’t been as violent up to this point. On Thursday night, stars such as Alec Baldwin and Mark Ruffalo joined others at a rally outside Trump Tower in NYC. Up next, more than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Women’s March on Washington rally on Saturday.
More updates to come.
