Black-clad activists angry about U. S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration smashed store car windows and blocked traffic in Washington on Friday and fought with police in riot gear who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
About 500 people, some wearing masks, marched through the city’s downtown, using hammers to claw up chunks of pavement to smash the windows of a Bank of America branch and a McDonald’s outlet, all symbols of the American capitalist system.
The crowd chanted anti-Trump slogans and carried signs with slogans including “Make Racists Afraid Again,” a play on the New York businessman-turned-politician’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. The incident occurred about 90 minutes before Trump was sworn in at the Capitol a mile and a half (2.4 km) away.
Police detained about 50 people and said they had charged numerous people with rioting. The group of detainees became a flash point after Trump was sworn in, when a crowd of several hundred that had formed to call for their release turned violent, with some throwing bottles and rocks at police who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Two police officers sustained minor injuries from people who were trying to avoid arrest, police said.
“The message I want to send is that Trump does not represent this country. He represents the corporate interests,” said Jessica Reznicek, a 35-year-old Roman Catholic aid worker from Des Moines, Iowa, who was part of the protest but did not participate in the violence.
Not far from the White House, protesters scuffled with police, at one point throwing aluminum chairs at an outdoor café. Bob Hrifko, a member of the “Bikers for Trump” group in town to celebrate the inauguration, was struck in the face when he tried to intervene.
“I know, law and order and all that. We need more order. This ain’t right,” said Hrifko, who was bleeding from a cut under his eye.
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