Protests Over Trump’s Inauguration Continue Worldwide One Day After Inauguration

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Friday, Trump was sworn in on Capitol Hill as the forty-fifth president of the United States.

Republican candidate Trump won the 2016 US election in November with a total of 304 Electoral College votes against 227 electoral votes secured by his rival, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During the presidential campaign, Trump had sparked controversy both in the country and abroad with his comments on Muslims, women, and migration, including calls to build a wall with Mexico and temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States. Therefore, mass protests over Trump’s inauguration had been anticipated.

WOMEN'S PROTESTS

Major protest against Trump called Women's March on Washington kicked off on Saturday in Washington, DC, as well in other cities across the world.

The march was supported by a number of famous figures, including Michael Moore, documentary filmmaker, Angela Davis, political activist and academic scholar, actress Scarlett Johansson and others. According to media reports, the protests were planned in Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Geneva, Melbourne, Tokyo and other cities.

Georgian capital joined the Women's March on Washington, bringing tens of people to the main streets of Tbilisi with banners saying "Build Bridges Not Walls", "The Rise of the Woman = The Rise of the Nation" and "Woman Rights = Human Rights."

THE UNITED STATES

A major Women's march was held on Saturday in Washington, which comprised approximately the same or exceeding number of people, that attended the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States. The protest was carried out within the Women's March movement, however, it was also attended by men.

On Friday, the demonstrations were held in New York, the protesters marched towards Trump Tower on Wall Street on the evening of Inauguration Day, causing major traffic delays and street closures. During the protest in the north-western city of Seattle a man was shot and remained in a critical condition. The protests took place around the largest city of the US state of Oregon, Portland and others.

EUROPE

About 200 protesters gathered at Prague's Wenceslas Square on Saturday. The demonstrators held banners saying that Trump represented "the rhetoric of hatred". According to one of the organizers, the protesters wanted to support such values as democracy, human rights, ecology, professional journalism and women’s equality, unlike the proposed policies of the new US president.

In a number of Italian cities, hundreds of attended anti-Trump protesters gathered in front of the Rome’s Pantheon as part of the Women’s march, carrying banners such as "Trump — not my president" and "Bridges not walls."

On Friday, the protests against the new US president were held in London, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and a number of other European cities.

In London, more than 100,000 took part in Women's March on Saturday morning.

"We will march, wherever we march, for the protection of our fundamental rights and for the safeguarding of freedoms threatened by recent political events. We unite and stand together for the dignity and equality of all peoples, for the safety and health of our planet and for the strength of our vibrant and diverse communities," the organizers of the march in London said on their website.

The organizers later said on their Facebook that they "put the city of London on standstill, #makinghistory 100,000 strong."

The activists marched through the center of the city, starting from the US embassy, and held a demonstration at Trafalgar Square. Most of the slogans at the march focused on criticizing the new US president.

A few hundred marched in the center of Latvian capital of Riga, finishing the march at the Freedom Monument.

According to Finnish Yle broadcaster, about 200 people took part in an anti-Trump demonstration in Helsinki.

Ville Matti Niinisto, the chairperson of the Green League, Paavo Erkki Arhinmak, a Parliament member (The Left Alliance), another lawmaker Eva Biaudet (Swedish People's Party) and other public figures reportedly gave speeches.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Hundreds of Mexican and US citizens took part in the protest march in Mexico City, where a fake "wall" was constructed in front of the US Embassy, in response to the proposed Trump's initiative concerning migrants from Mexico. Another demonstration was held in the city of Oaxaca and mainly attended by foreigners, primarily US nationals, according to the Informador news outlet.

Anti-Trump protesters have also gathered in Australia, China and other countries.

"Antarctica announces #womensmarch, expanding the movement to 7 continents!" the Women's March movement's global Twitter account said.

One of the activists who participated in the demonstration in Antarctica, Linda Zunas, stressed on her Twitter that the march was not political but "pro-peace, pro-environment," and uploaded a number of pictures.

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