11 Nov 2016

Second night of anti-Trump protests across US

7:44 pm on 11 November 2016

Protests have been held for a second night in several US cities after the election of Donald Trump as president - but with smaller crowds.

Police block protesters of President-elect Donald Trump from marching after they blocked traffic on I-94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Police block protesters of President-elect Donald Trump from marching after they blocked traffic on I-94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo: AFP

The protesters were mainly young people, who said a Trump presidency would create deep divisions along racial and gender lines.

However police in Portland said they were dealing with vandalism and aggressive behaviour.

In response, Mr Trump tweeted that the protests were "very unfair":

Crowds of protesters gathered in cities across the US on Thursday evening.

Police in Portland, Oregon said the protest there should be considered a riot, with shop windows being broken, some demonstrators carrying bats and others arming themselves with rocks.

There were no reports of violence at the other protests, although demonstrators in Minneapolis briefly blocked an interstate highway in both directions.

In Philadelphia crowds gathered near City Hall holding placards bearing slogans such as "Not Our President", "Trans Against Trump" and "Make America Safe For All".

In Baltimore, police said a peaceful crowd of 600 people marched through the city, blocking traffic. In San Francisco high school students waved rainbow banners and Mexican flags.

A small crowd also gathered outside Trump Tower in Chicago, a day after thousands marched through the city centre. Some passers-by cheered them but at least one driver shouted that they should "shut up and accept democracy", the Associated Press news agency reported.

Protesters also returned to Trump Tower in New York for a second night.

In his tweet Mr Trump described them as "professional protesters" and said they had been "incited by the media".

- BBC

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs