Traffic blocked, fires lit as rage escalates

Protesters burned a giant orange-haired head of Donald Trump in effigy, lit fires in the streets and blocked traffic as rage over the billionaire’s election victory spilled onto the streets of major US cities.

From New York to Los Angeles, thousands of people in around 10 cities rallied late Wednesday against the president-elect a day after his stunning win, some carrying signs declaiming “Not our President” and “Love trumps hate”.

Most of the rallies were peaceful. Outside Mr Trump’s residence in Trump Tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue, protesters gathered with signs reading “Dump Trump”. The police said they had arrested 15 people, the New York Times reported.

Protesters playing a game of cat and mouse with police blocked a major highway near downtown Los Angeles in a demonstration that continued into the wee hours of Thursday, bringing traffic to a standstill.

The police arrested 13 people, the Los Angeles Times reported. Demonstrators outside Los Angeles City Hall also hoisted a giant, box-shaped likeness of Mr Trump’s head, topped with bright orange hair, and set it ablaze.

In Washington, several hundred gathered in front of the White House for a candlelight vigil to decry what they called Mr Trump’s racism, sexism and xenophobia, carrying signs reading “We have a voice!” and “Education for all!”

Protesters also gathered outside the Trump International Hotel in the nation’s capital and shouted “Impeach Donald Trump”.

“People are justly frightened,” said one of its organisers, Ben Wikler, director of the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.Org.

“We are here because in these darkest moments, we are not alone,” he told the crowd, before leading cha-nts of “We are not alone!”

Protests were also held in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Portland and other cities.

In Oakland, California, some 7,000 people by police estimates lit fires in the street and stood around them chanting. Some threw bottles and firecrackers at the police, and several officers were injured, police spokeswoman Johnna Watson told CNN.

She said two police cars also were burned.

Ethan Miller of the workers’ rights group Jobs with Justice said the Washington vigil was meant to show that civil society was resilient.

“It’s a hard time for a lot of Americans,” he told AFP. “We saw a campaign that was filled with racism and misogyny and a whole host of other terrible tactics that ultimately were successful for winning the electoral college.”

“But we’re not going to let a Donald Trump presidency stop the progress in this country.”

In New York, demonstrators holding signs saying “Love Trumps Hate” and “Trump Grabbed America by the Pussy!” marched uptown from Union Square to chant in front of Trump Tower. “The electoral college is broken,” protester Nicholas Forker said of the US indirect voting system. “I think it definitely needs to be reformed.” In Chicago, several thousand people gathered around another Trump Tower, blocking downtown traffic. A counter-protest gathered on the other side of the building.

Across the country, high school and college students also staged campus demonstrations and walkouts from classes.

In Oregon, demonstrators blocked traffic in downtown Portland, forcing a delay on two light-rail lines.

The crowd there grew to about 300 people, local reports said, including some who sat in the middle of a road to block traffic. Others burned US flags.