Disrupt J20, one of the organizing protest groups, noted that tear gas has been deployed, too.
— sam (@rxvodc) January 20, 2017
Amid the chaos, a preacher is "strangely unbothered."
— Julian Notaro (@JulianNotaro1) January 20, 2017
Rioters have faced concussion grenades as well.
— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) January 20, 2017
There's a standoff between police and teenage protesters at 14th and K Streets NW, according to an eye-witness. The scene looked like it could soon become more violent, the witness added. At least 217 individuals have been arrested, a local official confirmed. Protesters hurled rocks and debris at the riot police officers. They came prepared with gas masks.
— Mindia Gavasheli (@snakeeate) January 20, 2017
Two officers sustained "minor injuries," the DC police department told Sputnik.
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 20, 2017
Activists have started lighting trashcans on fire.
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) January 20, 2017
But a young Trump advocate worked to put it out.
— Van Applegate (@VBagate) January 20, 2017
Estimates range from 200-1,000 people in this area. Earlier in the day, a group calling themselves "Black Bloc" stormed through the streets of Washington breaking windows and vandalizing vehicles parked on the street. The group shattered the windows of a Bank of American branch and a Starbucks cafe.
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) January 20, 2017
A police squad car had its back window bashed in.
— Mike Murillo (@MikeMurilloWTOP) January 20, 2017
On Friday, the White House announced "the dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump administration will end it." The Trump administration indicated it would offer little sympathy to protesters the next four years. "Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, the violent disrupter," the White House states.
Numerous businesses along K and L Streets NW in Washington, DC have incurred "significant" damages, Acting Police Chief Peter Newsham said.
— Peter Hermann (@phscoop) January 20, 2017
"Violence will not be tolerated," DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said. Riot police have slowly escalated techniques throughout the day in response to property damage. The groups are still about five or six blocks from interfering with the Inaugural Parade and would have to get through several layers of blockades to disrupt the festivities.
— Megan Cloherty (@ClohertyWTOP) January 20, 2017
Mass arrests may still take place if the situation continues to intensify.
— Mindia Gavasheli (@snakeeate) January 20, 2017
Trump has emphasized in recent speeches that his presidency is not about him, but the people. "Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the people," Trump said in his inaugural address.
But the "movement" that fueled Trump's victory may very well have sparked an equal and opposite force, to quote Issac Newton's third law. "The revolution starts today," a masked protester told Sputnik.
