Protesters on Friday set fires and hurled bricks in a daylong assault on the city hosting US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, registering their rage in a series of clashes that led to more than 200 arrests.
Pledging to empower the US’ “forgotten men and women,” Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the US.
Under cloudy skies at the West Front of the US Capitol, Trump promised to stir a “new national pride” and protect the US from the “ravages” of countries he says have stolen US jobs.
Photo: AFP
“This American carnage stops right here,” Trump said.
“From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this moment on, it’s going to be America first,” he said.
Trump brought his signature style to the task of governing, sprinkling his comments at three inaugural balls with references to “phony polls,” campaign victories and social media.
“Let me ask you: Should I keep the Twitter going?” he asked a crowd of supporters before dancing with his wife, Melania, to Frank Sinatra’s My Way at the second ball.
“The enemies keep saying: ‘Oh that’s terrible,’ but it’s a way of bypassing dishonest media,” he said.
Leading up to Trump being sworn in, police were pressed into using pepper spray and stun grenades to prevent the chaos from spilling into the formal procession and evening events.
Several demonstrations were staged at security checkpoints near the Capitol as police helped ticket-holders get through to the ceremony.
Signs read: “Resist Trump, climate justice now,” “Let freedom ring” and “Free Palestine.”
About 2km from the National Mall, police gave chase to a group of about 100 people who smashed the windows of downtown businesses, including a Starbucks, a Bank of America and a McDonald’s, as they denounced capitalism and Trump.
Police in riot gear used pepper spray to help contain the violence, which erupted periodically throughout the day.
“They began to destroy property, throw objects at people, through windows. A large percentage of this small group was armed with crowbars and hammers,” Washington interim police chief Peter Newsham said.
Six officers sustained minor injuries, he said.
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