Starting at the capitol -- where an organizer on a bullhorn instructed the assembly to “be peaceful tonight” -- the march gained in size as protesters snaked through downtown. The streets were so clogged, it made it hard to tell where the demonstration began or ended.
Signs read "Make America Safe Again" or "#DenverDumpsTrump." Some chanted "Love Trumps Hate!"
“Donald Trump has got to go, hey hey, ho ho,” came the chant as the parade weaved among landmarks like the 16th Street Mall and ‘The Dancers’ of Sculpture Park. “Donald Trump has got to go, hey hey ho ho!”
Bemused bystanders took pictures. Some joined in the chants. A few commuters looked annoyed. The president-elect himself acknowledged the nationwide protests, taking to Twitter Thursday night to say “professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair.”
Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!
Trump would later walk back that tweet with another. “Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country,” he tweeted early Friday morning.
Police in Portland, Oregon detained several people when an anti-Trump protest-turned violent with demonstrators breaking windows of businesses and starting a dumpster fire downtown. Local police termed it a riot.
Denver’s march was peaceful, though not without some disruption.
Protesters managed to shut down Interstate 25 near downtown briefly Thursday night. Denver police tweeted just after 10 p.m. that demonstrators made their way onto the freeway. Traffic was halted in the northbound and southbound lanes for about half an hour.
Near downtown, the rally ended back at the place where it started, the Colorado capitol. Alaina Dougherty of Denver came out to show “solidarity with everyone who has felt any hate or rage during this campaign.”
“I’m just here to support you and here to be right in my own heart with what has happened.”
Protest organizers said to expect more marches.
CPR’s Jim Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report
