Kshama Sawant warns of a larger anti-Trump protest in the future
Nov 10, 2016, 5:50 AM | Updated: 7:00 am
Kshama Sawant speaks during the anti-Trump protest in Seattle on Wednesday. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Seattle City councilmember Kshama Sawant warns that the protest against President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday night is just the beginning.
Sawant, who attended the march, warned of an even larger event on Inauguration Day.
KIRO 7’s Essex Porter reports Sawant called for a nationwide shutdown on Jan. 20, 2017.
The protest against President-elect Donald Trump at Westlake Center grew into a march with several hundred people across the streets of Seattle.
The original protest was organized by the Socialist Alternative, and included concerned members of the LBGTQ community, immigrants and Muslims worried about the Trump presidency.
Hundreds of others joined the march that moved across the city until around midnight. But not everyone agreed with the message.
“America voted. America voted for Trump. What is this?” one man asked during the march.
Five people were shot in downtown Seattle (at Third Ave. and Pine) around 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. Police do not believe the shooting is related to a protest.
Below: a recap of the protest
11:23 Photos from the protest/march
11:12 Large crowd gathered at the Seattle Center.
10:49 Crowd is near 6th and Denny, chanting “Hey hey ho ho misogyny has got to go.”
10:43 Protesters are near 6th and Bell. Check out earlier video from KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz as the crowd moved past on Eastlake.
10:38 Crowd is headed northbound on 6th from Westlake toward the Space Needle.
10:15 Protesters near Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, making their way along Eastlake. This demonstration has been going on for over five hours.
10:09 The crowd is moving in on South Lake Union chanting “Hey hey ho ho misogyny has got to go” and “Black Lives Matter.” Demonstrations in Portland ,Oakland, and New York, too.
10:00 Protesters are moving up Eastlake Ave. E protesting “My body, my choice.”
9:36 Protesters are back on the move toward Eastlake from the Montlake Bridge.
9:18 Huge crowd gathered in front of Suzzallo Library on UW campus. It’s no stranger to anti-Trump demonstrations. There have been at least four in 2016, including the construction of a “wall” in Red Square.
9:08 Hundreds of students chanting in UW’s Red Square.
9:03 Hundreds of students gathering in Red Square on the University of Washington campus. SPD earlier reported 5K people in Westlake Tuesday afternoon.
8:57 Protesters headed SB on 15th maybe back towards Capitol Hill.
8:55 Protesters chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.”
8:48 Group of protesters are chanting “Not my president.” Protest is moving from Wallingford back toward the U-District on 45th.
8:42 Protesters are marching south towards 45th. Onlookers cheering for the crowd. Officers tying to keep crowd from entering I-5.
8:37 Many police officers, including those on bikes, are working to keep protesters from entering the freeway at 50th.
8:27 Early video
#TrumpProtest in the University District pic.twitter.com/ROSgtxwaHZ
— MyNorthwest.com (@Mynorthwest) November 10, 2016
8:25 Protesters near 50th and 7th avenue NE are now chanting, “Shut down I-5.”
8:22 Protesters are chanting, “Not my president” and “Hey hey ho ho, misogyny has got to go.”
8:18 Marchers at 50th and 7th avenue NE, which is near the entrance to I-5. Officers have blocked the on-ramp.
8:05 Marchers have passed 47th and 17th Avenue north of U-District
7:52 King County Metro says you should expect significant delays in Transit Service in the University District due to a march.
7:39 Police officers at the scene were reporting that the march had reached University Way in the U-District and that a lot of students were joining in.
Calling the recent presidential election a “mandate for hate,” Socialist Alternative Seattle organized a protest of Donald Trump the day following his election as president, pepompting hundreds to gather and march through downtown Seattle.
The crowd gathered at Westlake Park around 4 p.m., many holding signs that said “Fight Racism,” and chanting “Dump Trump.” There were other chants as well, but they cannot be printed here.
More than 2,200 people responded to the Facebook event Wednesday indicating they plan to attend the demonstration in “mass opposition to Trump and his agenda.”
Donald Trump’s victory sets off protests in Seattle
The organization is the one that spearheaded the campaign to elect Kshama Sawant to Seattle City Council, the first independent socialist in a major U.S. city in decades. The event description adds: “The Democratic Party has proven they are incapable of stopping Trump. The Democratic Party has failed. This is the result of the Democratic Party leadership backing Hillary Clinton instead of Bernie Sanders. It is time to build a new party of the 99 percent.”
