Anti-Trump protests turn violent, 2 cops hospitalized, more than 200 arrested
Protesters and law enforcement clashed on Inauguration Day Friday shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.
As of late Friday, more than 200 demonstrators have been taken into custody and at least six police officer had been injured in a series of protests that broke out in Washington D.C. in opposition to Trump's inauguration.
Two D.C. police officers and one other unidentified person were taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries after run-ins with protesters, according to CNN.
Reports indicate that out of the hundreds of protesters, the majority of the violence seems to linked to a small group of individuals. However, Trump's first day as president has been marred by people in the street voicing their dissent with the new administration.
RELATED: Click through images from Inauguration Day protests:
While Trump was giving his inaugural address, police launched cans of tear gas and deployed pepper spray to stabilize a crowd of at least 200 protesters damaging storefronts and throwing objects just blocks away from the ceremony.
"Pepper spray and other control devices were used to control the criminal actors and protect persons and property," police said.
According to a statement from the Metropolitan Police Department two officers sustained injuries during "coordinated attacks by members of the group that were attempting to avoid arrest."
"The group damaged vehicles, destroyed the property of multiple businesses, and ignited smaller isolated fires while armed with crowbars, hammers and asps," the statement said.
Black-clad activists smashed store windows and blocked traffic in Washington during U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday, and fought with police in riot gear who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
However a protester named Dan Kontoff spoke out against the violent tactics some demonstrators were taking. "These are stupid people that don't understand the idea of what it means to be an activist," Kontoff told AOL.com.
Kontoff said the behavior of a few violent actors will ultimately do more harm than in good. "Their actions support trump because it gets them to hate us more. We need to work to get Trump's followers on our side."
Earlier in the day about 500 people, some wearing masks, marched through the city's downtown, using hammers to claw up chunks of pavement to smash the windows of a Bank of America branch and a McDonald's outlet, all symbols of the American capitalist system.
The various protest groups scattered around the city chanted anti-Trump slogans and carried signs with slogans including "Make Racists Afraid Again," a play on the New York businessman-turned-politician's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan. The incident occurred about 90 minutes before Trump was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol a mile and a half (2.4 km) away.
A student from Washington D.C. named Nylah Burton told AOL.com that she came to protest Trump's inauguration to ensure that her voice was heard-- something she wishes she'd done during the 2016 campaign to help Bernie Sanders capture the Democratic nomination.
Burton says she is fearful of the actions the Trump administration could soon take on many different issues. "I'm scared about everything. I'm scared about climate change. I'm scared about LGBT rights. I'm scared about mass incarceration." Burton continued, "I can go on all day."
Not far from the White House, protesters scuffled with police, at one point throwing aluminum chairs at an outdoor café. Bob Hrifko, a member of the Bikers for Trump group in town to celebrate the inauguration, was struck in the face when he tried to intervene.
"I know, law and order and all that. We need more order. This ain't right," said Hrifko, who was bleeding from a cut under his eye.
Additional reporting by Carrie Healey, Christina Gregg and Reuters.
