Anger, fear, and hope reverberated in chants echoed by thousands of protesters on Thursday night during a “Stop Trump” rally that culmninated in a standoff with police on Interstate 94.
The rally, initially an anti-deportation event, was organized by the Socialist Alternative student-group at the University of Minnesota and attracted thousands of people, many not students.
A plethora of messages were raised above heads on signs and flags as chants ranging from “We stand with Standing Rock” to “Black Lives Matter,” spirited the crowd. Despite the wide variety of motivations, everyone found one cause in common – to protest President-elect Trump’s victory on Nov. 8.
Chris Gray, 30, a Socialist Alternative member, helped organize the protest just hours before the rally. He said the high turnout was surprising and highlighted a lot about the mood of the nation.
“I think what it shows is that there’s millions of people in the U.S., thousands in Minneapolis, that don’t think Trump has any mandate to move forward,” Gray shouted over the crowds chants. “We want to show people a way forward, that even though Donald Trump won we’re not going to let any of his policies pass, and we’re going to need mass movements and mass protest against him.”
This mass did have movement. At 6 p.m. the crowd had spilled onto 7th Street and with banners in front, began the march. They moved from down Riverside Avenue under the I-94 bridge and onto Franklin Avenue gathering more numbers with every block.
University of Minnesota first-year student Dylan Carden carried a banner in the front of the crowd that read “No mas Trumpadas.” It was the fear and sadness he felt while watching the election that brought him to the streets of Minneapolis on Thursday night.
“Tonight it feels very supportive, and that is something I think is very important right now for a lot of Americans,” Darcen said. “To have that support and know that we are not alone and that we can combat this hate that is spreading across America.”
Halfway down Franklin Avenue, the crowd, then nearing 1,000 and bringing occupied cars to a standstill, stopped in front of the Republican Party of Minnesota headquarters. A cheer rang through the air as a protestor spray painted “F— Trump” on the building’s side in black.
Deqa Adan, 32, lives in the neighborhood and joined the protest as it marched by. She said everyone is on the streets because of the shock and devastation felt after the election results.
“It’s hard to react to it. It’s hard not to be outraged by his presidency. It just sends a signal that it’s OK for a person to act like that and say so many horrible things about anyone in this great country,” Adan said. “I’m a Muslim-American citizen. Everyone is here and we are outraged. I’m here because I have kids in this country, family in this country, friends of all colors, and we are all outraged by this person.”
That outrage led to a tense moment in the night after one end of the crowd, then numbering approximately 3,000, moved down an exit and onto Interstate 94. Police and march marshalls were unable to redirect them and protesters leapt in front of high-speed traffic bringing cars to a screeching halt. After traffic in both eastbound and westbound lanes came to a halt the crowd poured onto the road and moved west down I-94. Police and State Patrol scrambled to cut them off, finally getting ahead of them at the Cedar-Riverside exit.
Though the bulk of the protesters held their ground on the interstate, some sitting, others linking arms, many watched from nearby bridges and atop embankments. First-year University of Minnesota student David Czaia said he came because he believed what was happening was historic, but was skeptical of the methods.
“I’m here mostly just to witness it. Just witness the protest. I don’t support Trump by any means but it feels historic,” Czaia said. “Honestly, I hope it doesn’t increase the divide in our country but I think it kind of is. I don’t know if this is the solution.”
Down on I-94, the protesters faced an increasingly impressive armada of police vehicles and officers piercing the night with blinding lights. The stand-off lasted around an hour before the majority of the protesters moved off the interstate via the Cedar Avenue exit and back to the starting location.
After a brief announcement scheduling the next protest for Nov. 29, the crowd began dispersing.
Adan believes that nights like tonight are necessary, but not the end of the story.
“We are going to heal and move forward from this,” she said. “I believe that after all this anger and devastation moves away we are going to come together. But right now we are going to show what we feel. We feel like we got slapped in the face.”
Simeon Lancaster can be reached at lanc4637@stthomas.edu