Donald Trump’s inauguration is complete. The controversial businessman is now officially the 45th President of the United States of America. And while the swearing-in process went as scheduled, widespread protests around the Nation’s Capitol blocked access to the Washington Mall, and a number of activists were pepper sprayed and confronted by police after smashing the windows of corporate businesses in downtown D.C. 

 

 

To prevent Trump supporters from making their way to the viewing area for the President’s swearing-in, protesters chained themselves together outside of security checkpoints, rallying for specific causes at each entrance – in some cases blocking them entirely. At one point, one of the protesters claimed that of the 12 entrances to the Mall, six had blockades and four were completely shut down by groups like Black Lives Matter, the Standing Rock DAPL protesters, and climate change activists.   

 

 

 

 

 

While demonstrators were shutting down access to the viewing area, thousands more activists took to downtown D.C., where some broke windows at corporate chains, including Bank of America, Starbucks, and McDonald’s. At some point during the action, police officers surrounded the crowd and began firing tear gas and pepper spray and detaining protesters. 

 

 

 

The extent of the arrests and injuries caused in the interaction between police and protesters are still not clear, but it does appear that the crowds will continue throughout the day.

For more up-to-date information on the protests and demonstrations going on today, you can head over to Twitter and follow @DisruptJ20 and the #DisruptJ20 hashtag.