Protests across the US after Donald Trump was elected president continue. Portland, Oregon, was swept by riots, police officers were forced to use weapons to restore order.
Portland Police declared the protest of about 4000 people to be a riot after "extensive criminal and dangerous behavior." By late Thursday police were calling it an unlawful assembly as repeated orders to disperse were ignored.
An anti-Trump protest culminated with officers arresting at least 26 people who refused to disperse after some protesters smashed windows, spray-painted buildings and lit a dumpster fire.
Police in Portland accused some demonstrators of carrying bats and arming themselves with rocks. Objects were thrown at the police, who responded with pepper spray and rubber baton rounds.
"After several orders to disperse, police have used less lethal munitions to effect arrests and move the crowd," the city department said via Twitter.
Police also tweeted that officers "deployed less lethal munitions such as OC spray and vapor (pepper spray), rubber ball distraction devices, rubber baton rounds."
Thousands of protesters surrounded Trump's buildings in other US states and cities, such as New York and Washington.
In San Francisco, more than 1000 high school students walked out of classes Thursday morning to march through the financial district, carrying signs with such slogans as "Impeach Trump" and "Not my president."
"We are protesting because we want to stand up for our rights and we deserve to be heard," Pamela Campos, 18, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Donald Trump is just racist. He's attacking all the immigrants, all the Muslims. I saw all my classmates crying yesterday."
In addition, New Balance Athletic Inc. became the first corporation to get hit by backlash against President-elect Donald Trump.
The privately held sneaker company welcomed the election of Mr. Trump as a reprieve from the policies of President Barack Obama.
“The Obama administration turned a deaf ear to us and frankly, with President-elect Trump, we feel things are going to move in the right direction,” Matthew LeBretton, New Balance’s vice president of public affairs, said in an interview on Wednesday.
The comments sparked controversy on social media, with hundreds of users posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram that they would throw out their sneakers or boycott the brand. Some posted videos setting their shoes on fire. Others uploaded photos of the shoes in the garbage, the Wall Street Journal reports.
President-elect Donald Trump accused media of inciting protesters.
"Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!" Trump wrote at 9:20 p.m. EST.
