What to Know
- New York City real estate mogul Donald Trump becomes the 45th president
- He has long been a personality in the tri-state area, known for his flashy buildings and brash style
- Protests are planned in Manhattan on Friday and this weekend, including a rally that coincides with the Women's March on Washington
Demonstrations stretched into the night in New York City Friday, hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as America's 45th commander in chief.
They began with a civil disobedience protest outside Trump Tower in the afternoon, where seven people were arrested, including a Democratic city councilman and a state senator.
Councilman Jumaane Williams, who represents the 45th district in Brooklyn, the National Action Network's Kirsten John Foy, and several others were put into an NYPD strategic response van after blocking Fifth Avenue to traffic.
Williams and his mother tearfully embraced as he, Foy and state Sen. Marisol Alcantara sat on the crosswalk while surrounded by other city councilmembers and activists.
"No justice, no peace!" they chanted. "Resist from day one!"
They were all charged with disorderly conduct.
At another protest in lower Manhattan later in the evening, thousands of people marched from Foley Square to the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street, carrying signs and chanting, "Not my president!" and "Stand up, fight back" as police stood watch.
Activist organizations and advocacy groups representing a variety of interests participated, at times walking in the rain.
NYPD spokesman Sgt. Carlos Nieves tweeted that an estimated 1,500 people protested there and that it was "orderly at this time, no issues to report."
Seen over #NYC on this dreary morning. The banner says "We Outnumber Him. Resist!"#Inauguration #InaugurationDay2017 #inaugurationprotests pic.twitter.com/QGle1JzRCg
— Diana Mahmoud (@DianaDoesTweets) January 20, 2017
The crowd dwindled to about 200 by the time they marched up to Union Square late Friday night, he said. Two people were arrested in the nighttime protest.
During the daytime demonstration outside Trump Tower earlier, several clusters of cops were stationed on the corners as they shuffled curious onlookers who snapped photos of chanting protesters and silent ones holding up signs. Two elderly women walked along Fifth Avenue with a sign that read "Mourning in America." One of the women held up a dried, wilted yellow rose as she walked through the street expressionless.
Despite the chaos and emotions running high, playwright William White said he felt powerful.
"I think [the election] really galvanized people," he said. "I feel hopeful today, and powerful."
White got into a verbal altercation with two Trump supporters, including Robert Velez, who didn't understand why the protesters were out in the first place.
"I'm here to find out why they're protesting," he said. "Trump just talked about peace and unity in his inauguration speech."
A group of protesters wearing neon yellow beanie caps were posted on the corner of 57th Street chanting "Hey-hey, ho-ho, government Sachs has got to go!" as a homemade cardboard cutout of Trump, adorned in black sharpie with obscenities, bounced in the air. Three people held up a banner that read "#Government Sachs."
Also Friday, banners spotted across the city showed the mixed sentiment of New Yorkers; a small plane was seen over the Hudson with a banner that read "WE OUTNUMBER HIM! RESIST!," and another banner hung on the Queensboro Bridge with a more temperate message of "Bridges not Walls."
Local
More protests are planned for Saturday, including a women's march in the city. Natalie Delgado and Danielle La Sena weren't able to travel to Washington D.C., but the women said they plan to attend Saturday's march in the city. The Bernie Sanders supporters felt it was important for their voices to be heard.
"I am scared to go back to the 1950s or before," La Sena said. "It's scary to move backwards instead of forwards."
On Thursday, actors Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, Sally Field and Mark Ruffalo joined thousands of other people, including Mayor de Blasio and filmmaker Michael Moore, in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower for a pre-inauguration demonstration.
The event, staged near Central Park in Manhattan, was a rally for city residents who have vowed to pursue their own policies on health care, the environment and other issues during the Trump administration.
The swearing-in ceremony caps an historic rise for a man who has made New York headlines for decades with his flashy buildings and straight-talking brashness.
Officials estimated that 800,000 to 900,000 people would be present for Inauguration Day festivities, a celebration that closes D.C. roads and taxes the city's Metro transit system. Trump’s supporters have come from across the country to see the man they elected to upend Washington politics.
Protests turned violent in Washington Friday morning, with demonstrators smashing windows of a bank and a bus shelter. Officers used pepper spray to subdue them. More than 200 people were arrested.
