Miami

Thousands of Anti-Trump Protesters March in Downtown Miami, Halt Traffic on Highways

Thousands of protesters angry over the election of Donald Trump as the next President marched through the streets of Downtown Miami and halted traffic on two major highways Friday night.

Protesters arrived shortly before 6 p.m. for the demonstration at Bayfront Park. Many were holding signs and some were heard chanting "not my president" and "Donald Trump has got to go, hey hey, ho ho" outside the park.

"He's anti-Muslim, anti-black, anti-woman, anti-gay, and I just want him to know that this country did not vote for him, Hillary got more votes," protester Khari Brusch said. "We're gonna hold his feet to the fire, show him the same respect the GOP showed Obama for eight years."

The protesters then began marching north on Biscayne Boulevard, blocking most of the traffic lanes. They marched up to I-395 and shut down traffic on the highway before making their way back toward the park.

The group kept marching and got onto Interstate 95 northbound, closing the freeway. The Florida Highway Patrol also closed off the southbound lanes at Exit 1B.

The march then headed back to 395 in the eastbound lanes heading toward Miami Beach. The protesters exited at Biscayne Boulevard and made their way back toward Bayfront Park.

Miami Police estimated around three thousand people were part of the protest.

One woman brought her kids to the protest, saying she wanted it to be peaceful.

"We're very unhappy, I recently became a resident, I was unable to vote, I'm here to voice my opinion about what I believe," she said. "I don't believe that Trump is president material, he's done so many things that are just harmful to all of us, I don't believe in what he stand for, he stand for hate, I just can't understand how this happened."

Some Trump supporters did show up, including one man who said he's never protested anything before.

"I think it's a little bit strong, I can understand people are scared and upset a little bit but they can't expect that Trump is not going to be our next president, our electoral college voted him in," Robert Sullivan said.

On social media, those who created the event told anyone wanting to participate to meet at Bayfront Park Amphitheater, while reminding those who do come to keep the event non-violent in the face of events from Portland to Philadelphia that have led to confrontations with police and pro-Trump supporters.

No arrests were reported.

Earlier Friday, some students held a protest at the University of Miami. Video posted on Instagram showed at least a couple dozen students marching at the Coral Gables campus.

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