“Not My President!” Chants Heard Across the Nation

Los Angeles demonstrators burn Trump’s head in effigy. Screen capture from CNN.

Spontaneous Nation-wide Protests Break Out in Response to Trump’s Election – Including San Diego

“Not my president,” was a chant that has been heard across the nation, as spontaneous protests broke out across the country in response to the election of Donald Trump.

Many thousands protested in all the major cities – including a couple protests in San Diego. At least 25 cities overnight experienced protests . Demonstrations have been targeting Trump’s properties across the country. Protests have also been outside city halls and on college and high school campuses. CNN

The first demonstrations occurred right after Clinton’s concession phone call to Trump. They continued throughout Wednesday – and at least on the West Coast – continued past midnight, particularly in Los Angeles, where protesters shut down the 101 until dispersed, and in Oakland, where 40 small fires were reported.

But all the big cities witnessed thousands in the streets, chanting and marching: Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Oakland, LA, Portland, Seattle. Nearly hundred arrests were made nation-wide. ThinkProgress

Hundreds take over intersection in downtown San Diego. Screen capture from NBC7News.

In San Diego

In San Diego, 18 people were arrested by police at the end of a demonstration in and around Horton Plaza Wednesday night. Hundreds had gathered Downtown in protest of Trump’s election. Organized by an event post on Facebook by a group called it “Love Trumps Hate”, it called for people to gather at the Horton Plaza for a peaceful  solidarity rally.

The demonstration began with a small crowd standing on two corners of Broadway and Front Street. Once hundreds had assembled at Horton Plaza, the crowd took to the streets, and marched down 5th Avenue to Market Street, blocking several intersections NBC7. During the hours-long demonstration, protesters yelled: “Not my president,” “Love trumps hate,” and “This is what democracy looks like,” and others.  The SDU-T reports that the crowd swelled to 500 protesters.   San Diego U-T

Around 9:15pm, San Diego Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly, ordering people to leave.

Many dispersed as officers clad in riot gear closed in on Fifth Avenue near Broadway. Still, a smaller crowd marched for two more hours. Police said 18 people were arrested throughout the night. No specific information about the arrests was released.

UC San Diego also saw two protests up and near the campus on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, near midnight, after Trump had given his victory speech, “about 500 students marched through the La Jolla campus and onto a Interstate 5 freeway on-ramp. One woman, 18, was hit by a car about 1:40 a.m. and suffered major injuries, a California Highway Patrol officer said. The driver, a 46-year-old man, stopped and was not suspected of drunken driving.”

Later on Wednesday, more than 50 students sat down in front of the campus Geisel Library in a silent protest to Trump’s election The protest at the university was the second by students Wednesday. At midnight, shortly after Trump gave his victory speech, about 500 students marched through the La Jolla campus and onto a Interstate 5 freeway on-ramp.

One woman, 18, was hit by a car about 1:40 a.m. and suffered major injuries, a California Highway Patrol officer said. The driver, a 46-year-old man, stopped and was not suspected of drunken driving.

Demonstration planned for San Diego Saturday, November 12th. More on that later.

Doug Porter over at SDFP has more updates, links and plans for the future.