Trump sparks protests, celebrations worldwide

CNN says 90 people arrested in Washington

WASHINGTON: As Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Friday, thousands of protesters showed up near the inauguration ceremony to express their disapproval for the new leader. 

The protesters holding banners and placards and shouting slogans in support of Muslims, women and immigrants also tried to block access for the visitors going to attend the new president’s inauguration.

Meanwhile, some Black-clad activists smashed store and car windows in Washington near the inauguration ceremony and fought the police in riot gear, who responded with pepper spray and stun grenades. “We wanted to show solidarity with anti-Trump activists who want pro-immigrant policies to be implemented in the United States,” Maria Hannun told The News. She was holding “Woman in Hijab” creation by famous artist Shepard Fairey who had shot to fame with Obama’s “Hope” posters in 2009. Maria is a student of Arabic and literature at the George Town University in Washington.

Another protester Justin Hooker said he had come all the way from Chicago to attend anti-Trump demonstrations because of his anti-immigration policies. “My wife is an immigrant from the Netherlands and my best friend is a Pakistani and I think Trump’s policies would make lives of immigrants miserable.”

The protesters included students from various universities, teachers, women right activists and people from all walks of life. While a large majority of protesters remained peaceful, some of them resorted to violence. 

Another protester Noga Malkin said it was the duty of American people to fight back when immigrants and Muslims were attacked. The students also sang songs to support freedom and diversity         two key values of democratic America. About 500 people, some wearing masks and kerchiefs over their faces, marched through downtown, breaking the windows of a bank and some other shops.

The CNN reported that 90 people had been arrested. Two police officers sustained minor injuries from people who were trying to avoid arrest, the 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 violence.

Not far from the White House, the 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 is not right," said Hrifko, who was bleeding from a cut under his eye.

The number of people who turned out to view the midday swearing-in, on a gray day threatened by rain, appeared to be significantly smaller than the estimated 2 million who turned out for now-former president Barack Obama´s first inauguration in 2009. An overhead video of the National Mall showed sections of the white matting laid down to protect the grass were largely empty.

Earlier, liberal activists with a group called Disrupt J20 intermittently blocked multiple security checkpoints leading to the largest public viewing area for the inauguration. Several were led away by the police. Disrupt J20 protest organizer Alli McCracken, 28, of Washington, said the group was voicing its displeasure over Trump´s controversial comments about women, illegal immigrants and Muslims.

Hundreds of people 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

Tensions were high on the streets of Washington, with scuffles breaking out between Trump supporters and opponents. Trump supporters Chris and Karen Korthaus, who carried a life-size cardboard cutout of the former reality TV star, crossed paths with an anti-Trump crowd. "A protester came over and ripped off the don´s head," Karen Korthaus said as she showed a reporter a video of the incident. "We ran to a pizza shop and taped his head back on."

Members of Bikers for Trump assembled near the start of the route the new president was due to take to the White House to cheer the parade, shrugging off Trump opponents who briefly engaged them in a shouting match. "They´re just trying to argue," said a member of the bikers group, Donald Gregory, 53, of North Carolina. "We finally have someone we can root for."

The US Secret Service, Washington police and other law-enforcement agencies had about 28,000 officers in place to secure a roughly three-square-mile of downtown Washington. Along the stretch of Washington where the rioters smashed windows, workers were beginning to clean up the debris.

"We´re just working, and the next thing you know, violence is coming our way," said Edwin Garcia, 26, a cook at an Au Bon Pain where three windows were shattered. "What was the point if they never got to where Trump is?"

Meanwhile, people burned American flags in the Philippines. They partied in Russia and raged throughout Europe. The inauguration of Trump echoed through all corners of the globe. The reaction depended on how each country viewed its future relationship with the United States and with Trump in the White House.

In London, dozens of people unfurled a banner on the Tower Bridge that read "build bridges not walls," a reference to Trump's vow to build a "great wall" along the border with Mexico to make it more difficult for migrants to enter the US. Similar flags were draped over bridges throughout Europe, according to The Irish Times.

In the Philippines, more than 200 protesters burned American flags outside the US Embassy in Manila, calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to evict US troops stationed there. They urged Duterte to keep his campaign promise to chart a new foreign policy that doesn't include a Trump-led America, according to The Independent. One protest sign read, “Donald Trump, don’t mess with the Philippines.”

Protests were expected throughout Mexico, where people railed against Trump's campaign comments likening Mexicans to drug dealers and rapists. Friday morning, government officials in the city of Villahermosa prepped a 20-foot piñata resembling Trump that they planned to burn later in the day, according to the Wipy news service.

The situation looked different in countries that Trump praised during his presidential campaign, including Russia. Trump has complimented Russian President Vladimir Putin and said the United States could improve its relationship with the increasingly aggressive nation.

At one Moscow nightclub, the popular singer Willi Tokarev, 82, serenaded dozens of bar patrons with his tune Trumplissimo America! “Trump, Trump       symbol of America. Trump, Trump, he’s really president,” the mustachioed Tokarev sang on a tiny stage with the Russian and American flags hanging behind him, the Associated Press reported. Russian leaders welcomed the inauguration. “We are ready to do our share of work to improve the relationship,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Facebook.

In Slovenia, there was a celebration in the small city where first lady Melania Trump grew up. The industrial town of Sevnica kicked off three days of events on Friday, welcoming people to see where she was raised. Mayor Srecko Ocvirk told the AP that the town organized free tours and a display of locally-produced goods, including sausages, wine and a line of women's slippers. “We want to mark it with nice, appropriate products,” Ocvirk said.

In Nigeria, a separatist group said 11 people were killed when the police fired on a Trump celebration, but the police denied any deaths.

  Ugochukwu Chinweuba, a member of Indigenous People of Biafra, which wants Trump to support creating an independent Biafran state for the Igbo people, told the AP that the police killed nearly a dozen and wounded others. Nnamdi Omoni, a spokesman for the Rivers state police, said the claim was false as the police used only "minimal action" including teargas to disperse the crowd.