Nearly 2,000 protesters marched in Chicago's downtown streets Wednesday night, shutting down Lake Shore Drive and chanting angry slogans about the president elect outside Trump Tower, according to a Chicago Police Department estimate.
Demonstrators carried signs and shouted "Donald Trump has got to go," and "We reject the president elect," after a crowd of a few dozen grew into multiple groups totalling at about 1,800, sparking a huge police presence downtown as the evening wore on.
Chicago Police said about 10 p.m. that there had been no arrests or injuries.
"We will be ensuring adequate police coverage so that participants have an opportunity to safely assemble and demonstrate, but the department will be intolerant to any criminal or destructive activity," Chicago Police said in a statement.
A massive amount of people showed up to do just that.
"We don't stand for sexism, we don't stand for racism, homophobia--this is not my president" protester Reily O'Neil said.
The crowd also drew some Trump supporters who hoisted signs and argued with his detractors.
Local
"I expect the Republicans to rally around [Trump] and the things they can agree on get done," Don Peterson, who drove in from Yorkville, said.
About 8 p.m. one of the large groups spilled onto Lake Shore Drive, halting traffic from Fullerton Avenue to Roosevelt Road. A swarm of protesters at one point climbed atop a stopped CTA bus. Multiple bus routes were impacted by the protesters, the transit agency tweeted Wednesday night.
The “emergency protest” was scheduled following Donald Trump’s shocking victory over Hillary Clinton.
The event, which involved groups including Answer Chicago, Freedom First International and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, originally planned to gather from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to organizers. But by 10:30 p.m., groups of protesters had fragmented into smaller packs roving downtown's streets.
“We must resist this outcome,” organizers wrote in a Facebook page for the protest. “In fact, we cannot be idle. We must get into the streets immediately. We must unite and stand with immigrants, Muslims, women, LGBTQ people, poor and working people and Black Lives Matter. Only the people can defeat racism, bigotry and hate.”
Chicago police had been stationed outside the hotel Wednesday morning prior to the protest for extra security purposes, authorities said.
Other similar demonstrations took place in various cities throughout the United States Wednesday, with high school and college students from coast to coast staging walkouts.
Trump, who entered politics after a career in real estate and reality TV, defied pollsters and pundits Tuesday to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton for the presidency.
"Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division," Trump told a crowd of joyous supporters early Wednesday morning. "... We're going to dream of things for our country and beautiful things and successful things once again."
Clinton called Trump to concede after Trump had taken several battleground states, including Florida and Ohio.
Minutes after Trump was declared the winner, hundreds of protesters flocked to the streets of the Bay Area in California, blocking freeways, lighting fires and chanting, "Not our president" and "F--- Trump."
Protesters also burned Trump effigies, smashed windows of the Oakland Tribune newsroom, and set tires, trash and newspaper stands on fire in Oakland and Berkeley.
Hundreds of students protested on other California university campuses following Trump's victory. Police said at least 500 people swarmed on streets in and around UCLA early Wednesday morning.
Trump, 70, directed his campaign primarily at white, working-class men who felt left behind by the economic recovery after the 2008 recession, and insecure in an increasingly globalized economy.
