Anti-Trump protests in Oakland turn violent
A demonstration in Oakland against President-elect Donald Trump got unruly late Wednesday as protesters lit fires in the streets and smashed windows in buildings, including City Hall, in defiance of police orders to leave.
Hundreds marched through the city’s downtown, following a peaceful rally at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza to object to Trump’s election victory, as teams of police in riot gear moved in to disperse the crowds.
Several demonstrators were arrested or cited for suspected crimes including assaulting an officer, vandalism and failure to disperse, according to police.
Firefighters were on the scene at several locations around Broadway and Telegraph Avenue, extinguishing burning trash cans, suitcases, cardboard boxes and other debris.
The Oakland Police Department said in a statement that officers moved in on the demonstration after splinter groups from the initial protest began hurling rocks, bottles, fireworks, M-80s and Molotov cocktails shortly after 8 p.m.
Police estimated that as many as 7,000 people turned out for the protest, though the criminal behavior was confined to a much smaller number.