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Inauguration Day Trump Protests Fill Chicago Streets

By David Matthews | January 20, 2017 2:13pm | Updated on January 20, 2017 9:25pm
 Thousands of people protesting Donald Trump's presidency descended upon Downtown to make their voices heard on Inauguration Day. 
Inauguration Day Protests Downtown
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THE LOOP — Washington D.C. isn't the only city dealing with Inauguration Day protests.

While riot police clashed with anti-Donald Trump protests along his parade route in the nation's capital Friday afternoon, protesters in Chicago gathered for a series of protests of their own that stretched deep into the night and snarled traffic Downtown. 

The Chicago Socialist Alternative held a "Resist Trump: Occupy Inauguration Chicago" protest at Daley Plaza.

They were joined by Chicago Public Schools students who walked out of classes for the event. 

At Daley Plaza, Chuy Garcia spoke to a growing crowd, and delivered a message that forms of hate "have no place in Cook County."

Protesters marched from Daley Plaza to a separate protest at Trump Tower, where crowds swelled, taking over Wacker Drive in front of the tower. 

The mood early was jovial, with activists dancing to jazz flute music near the Trump International Hotel & Tower, 401 N. Wabash Ave. A makeshift brass band called "Sousaphones Against Hate" entertained the crowd with the Darth Vader theme from "Star Wars" and the "Oompa Loompa" song from "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory."

Protesters then split up into separate groups as police scrambled to direct and follow the crowds.

Smaller groups marched through Downtown, including a brief sit-in on Michigan Avenue, and others shut down sections of Lake Shore Drive at various points during the night.

Some protesters lit fireworks and others carried flares as they marched. One protester shattered windows of a Michigan Avenue bank and others flipped over trash cans. 

On Saturday, a different protest is expected to draw even larger crowds. The Chicago version of the Women's March begins at 10 a.m. near Grant Park, with plans to march to Federal Plaza at 11:30 a.m.

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