Video: Thousands Of Anti-Trump Protesters Are Marching Downtown

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Nov 10, 2016 12:06AM

Thousands of protesters are rallying and marching in downtown Chicago Wednesday evening in the wake of Donald Trump's presidential election.

Carrying signs that say, "Not My President," and "Stop Pretending Racism Is Patriotism," and others, the growing crowd gathered near River North's Trump Tower around 5 p.m. in response to a quickly-organized Facebook event. They began marching south peacefully on Michigan Avenue shortly after. The Sun-Times referred to the crowd as "creating havoc" downtown during rush hour, but two Chicagoist reporters on the ground say the crowds are peaceful.

The group marched on Lake Shore Drive at one point in the night, to the chagrin of drivers. At one point, a police officer pointed a canister of mace at the crowd, but did not use it.

Updated 9:40 p.m.: Chicagoist's Stephen Gossett says crowds are getting pushed and jostled by police at the barricade on the Wabash Avenue river bridge. The protesters have their hands up and are chanting "peaceful protest." The mood is tense.

"Police pushed people off the median [dividing Wacker Drive]. I fell to the concrete. We were getting pushed aside," Elizabeth Conde, 25, told Chicagoist.

Videos show protesters marching on inner Lake Shore Drive and dancing on Wacker Drive. At one point, a protester played YG's "FDT" while protesters cheered.

First responders arrive for someone experiencing breathing problems near the front of the protest. Photo by Stephen Gossett/Chicagoist

Tyler LaRiviere/Chicagoist

Photo by Stephen Gossett/Chicagoist

Photo by Stephen Gossett/Chicagoist

Photo by Stephen Gossett/Chicagoist