Lucy Gellman Photo
That’s not fog on the Capitol streets.
Washington, D.C. — A crowd of around 150 protesters was midway through a chant of “No justice/ No Peace!/ No racist/ Police!” in the northwest quarter of the city when the sound of a cannon pierced the grey sky behind them.
Pink smoke filled the air. Another loud boom rang across Massachusetts Avenue. This time, people started running, pulling bandannas over their faces as they darted past mounted police.
“If you are wearing contacts, take them out!” a woman with a paper face mask and red cross armband yelled, squaring her body against the police in the street. “Does anyone need a medic?”
“Oh my God!” another woman yelled as protesters ran past her. “Oh my God.”
Police had begun tear-gassing and lobbing non-lethal grenades at protesters after reports of windows being smashed and rocks being thrown a police officers, two of whom were injured. (Police reported close to 100 arrests and said most of the demonstrators were peaceful.)
Welcome to day one of Donald J. Trump’s America.
This was the scene Friday afternoon on Massachusetts Avenue close to DuPont Circle, where a crowd of protesters had gathered to protest Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States.
In the Senate Office Buildings 25 or so blocks away, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy was wrapping his own mind around the inauguration, which he attended before a scheduled 4 p.m. vote in the Senate.
“I don’t like the fact that Donald Trump’s going to be my president, but I was at the ceremony today because I respect this process and I think it’s a miracle,” he said in an interview in his Senate office, referring to Trump’s inaugural address, which featured a call to rescue America’s “forgotten men and women” from dark forces and perceived enemies. “His speech was a campaign speech … Mostly red meat for his supporters. And the folks that voted for him will probably love every minute of it, and the folks who didn’t probably didn’t find anything there. Donald Trump is who he is. He’s going to be a divisive president and we have to live with that and have to figure out a way to deal with it.”
“None of the things that Trump has proposed are inevitable,” he added, urging continued political action on the local level. “People are going to keep at it and get involved in their local communities.”
He noted that, while his wife will attend the Women’s March on Washington Saturday morning and they are hosting several women from Connecticut Friday night, he plans to stay home watching their two young children.
“I think tomorrow will be a really important day,” he said of the march.
To listen to the interview, click on the video below.