Updated at 7:30 a.m. Thursday
Protesters took to the streets in cities across the United States, angered by the surprise election of Donald Trump. Demonstrations began shortly after president-elect Trump claimed victory in the early hours of Wednesday. On Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, they spread to several major cities.
A number of the demonstrations were centered around Trump-owned properties. Crowds gathered in New York City's Union Square and marched to the building where Trump lives. The crowds stopped traffic in Times Square, where protesters held up signs that said "No More Racism." NPR's Sarah McCammon, who is in New York, said many chanted "Not My President," which also has become a social media hashtag.
Trump-owned properties also were targeted in Chicago and Washington, D.C. Police have set up barricades to keep crowds away.
Outside of Trump International Hotel in D.C., Carmel Delshad of member station WAMU spoke with protester Josiah Case.
"I wasn't politically active up until this point, and I really regret that," Case said. "So I just feel like now I've got to do something, even if that's just show the rest of the world that there are Americans who aren't OK with this."
In Seattle, crowds gathered downtown, carrying signs that said "Fight Racism" and "Not My President." One of the speakers called on protesters to "stand together and fight like hell."
In Los Angeles on Wednesday night, thousands of protesters took to the streets, with some shutting down traffic on the 101 Freeway as they chanted "Not my president" and "Respect all women," the Los Angeles Times reports.
An effigy of Trump was burned at that protest, The Associated Press reports:
"Flames lit up the night sky in California cities Wednesday as thousands of protesters burned a giant papier-mache Trump head in Los Angeles ... Los Angeles demonstrators also beat a Trump piñata and sprayed the Los Angeles Times building and news vans with anti-Trump profanity. One protester outside LA City Hall read a sign that simply said 'this is very bad.' "
Protests also took place in Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, Atlanta and Miami — as well as Richmond, Va., Providence, R.I., Omaha, Neb., Kansas City, Mo. and Portland, Maine.
High school students across California also protested on Wednesday afternoon, Danielle Karson reports for NPR.
The protests largely have been peaceful. In Oakland, protesters set garbage fires, CBS reports, while in Portland police detained at least one man after protesters said he assaulted someone, according to KGW.com.
Five people were shot and injured near a protest in Seattle, but police say the shooting and the protest were unrelated, Kate Walters of member station KUOW reports.
Dozens of people were arrested on Wednesday night, including at least 13 in Los Angeles and 15 in New York, according to media reports.
In his post-election victory speech, Trump said that he would be the president for all Americans, and that it was "time to come together as one united people."
"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans. And this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country."
But many are not convinced. Trump's threats to deport illegal immigrants and ban all Muslims from entering the country has many worried they will become targets. Many NPR readers and listeners fear that race relations will deteriorate, despite Trump's words.
At a protest in Miami, Cindy Wiesner, who helps undocumented workers, told NPR's Greg Allen that many of them were scared.
"We have been getting calls from our members from last night to this morning, not knowing if they should go out the door, if they should go to work — what they are going to do," she said.
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