Philadelphia

‘We Reject the President-Elect': Anti-Trump Protesters Take to Philly Streets for 3rd Night

Protesters chanted "We reject the president-elect," "Love Trumps Hate," and "Racist, sexist, anti-gay...Donald Trump is KKK"

For a third night, hundreds of protesters fanned out across Center City Philadelphia Friday in defiance of Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election.

Groups of demonstrators were reported in Market East, heading north on Broad Street toward Temple University and on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in University City.

The largest group, some 250 strong, flooded Market Street as they marched east toward Independence Mall around 8:15 p.m. Many held signs and chanted "We reject the president-elect," "Love Trumps Hate," and "Racist, sexist, anti-gay...Donald Trump is KKK."

Temple University Police advised the campus community via Twitter that protesters were expected to make their way to campus.

Over at the University of Pennsylvania a group marched from Huntsman Hall to Franklin Field where a sporting event is taking place. They marched along the sidelines chanting "Black Lives Matter" as halftime took place.

Penn has been investigating a series of racist messages sent to scores of Black freshman through the service GroupMe. The messages appear to have originated in Oklahoma, officials said.

https://twitter.com/JenLouiseWilson/status/797238558159409152

Friday's protests, like events the past two evenings, join demonstrations happening in cities across the United States challenging Trump's ascension to the presidency.

Demonstrators in Miami made their way onto Interstates 95 and 395, shutting down the highway for a period Friday evening. Marches and rallies also took place in Boston, Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco and Nashville, among other cities.

Trump was victorious in the electoral college, but lost the popular vote, prompting detractors to fight his election. Based on his widely-criticized comments during the general election and proposed policies, the protesters say they're fighting Trump inspired xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia and racism.

The latest protests came on the same day the president-elect made moves to formally begin a transition to the White House. Vice President-elect Mike Pence replaced New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as head of the transition team and dozens of new advisers were brought on board. Many of those advisers have long histories in Washington, a divergence from Trump's campaign promise to "Drain the Swamp" of career politicians, political insiders and lobbyists.

Philadelphia Police have been escorting the protesters through the city and none of the demonstrations have been anything but peaceful, officials said.

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