Last night, city residents swarmed Charles Street and moved down to the Inner Harbor and M&T Bank Stadium to express their dissatisfaction with Donald Trump being elected to their nation’s top office.
The protests were certainly disruptive, but they didn’t erupt into violence as some feared. Police estimated around 600 people showed up, though the Sun pegged the total at about 1,000. The group started off in Station North — a late-in-the-day move from the original plan to begin in Charles Village — and grew exponentially as it made its way down from Station North to the downtown area. They then crowded outside M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens were playing the Browns.
The group wasn’t burning effigies of Trump’s head, but they weren’t quiet either. Marchers were seen holding a wide variety of signs and flags. Some of their slogans: “Unite Against Racism”; “Hillary for President”; “Trump is not our president”; “My Life Matters”; and quite simply, “NOPE.” Designer Benjamin Jancewicz captured the evening in stunning photographs that can be seen here.
Some of it got a bit dicey. FOX45’s Keith Daniels and photographer Ruth Morton found themselves in a tough spot with some angry protesters, and police had to moved them away to safety. Drivers also grew frustrated with having traffic blocked during their evening commute.
But amid all of this, police reported they arrested exactly two (update: three) individuals, one of whom has been charged with failure to obey a lawful order from a police officer. “During the protest, some of the individuals blocked roadways and sat in streets,” police spokesman Jeremy Silbert said in a statement. “However, the majority have been peaceful and law abiding.”
The same could not be said for some other cities with protests last night. In Portland, police turned to pepper spray to get crowds under control in what they declared a riot, and in Los Angeles, people were seen throwing bottles and rocks at officers.
Trump, for his part, seems to appreciate the high energy exhibited by his fellow Americans.
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