Hundreds of demonstrators faced off with police Friday during protests against the newly inaugurated president of the United States in Washington, where rock-throwing vandals caused significant material damage and dozens of people were arrested.
Clashes with law enforcement left several people slightly wounded and around 90 people arrested, while protesters caused significant damage to commercial establishments and vehicles, Peter Newsham, interim chief of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, said in a statement.
The ongoing altercations were taking place near the route of the presidential motorcade that will take Donald Trump to the White House in the coming hours, EFE observed.
“It’s disappointing that it had to happen,” Newsham said. “We knew this was going to be a long day … Anyone who thinks they can come here and break the law, we will take them into custody.”
The clashes began Friday morning, when protesters shattered the windows of several commercial establishments, and intensified shortly after noon at the intersection of K Street and 12th Street in downtown Washington once Trump had taken the oath of office.
The demonstrators smashed the windows of several vehicles, including a police patrol car, and set trash cans on fire, while police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
But thus far, concerns about clashes between supporters of the new president and anti-Trump protesters have not materialized.
A massive security operation was launched on Friday, including restrictions and closures of several streets around Capitol Hill, for Trump’s inauguration as the 45th US president. EFE