Thousands of Anti-Trump Protesters Hit Streets of Downtown Miami

Thousands of anti-Trump protesters took to downtown Miami on Friday night, chanting slogans, waving signs and snarling traffic around some of the city's busiest thoroughfares as the growing tide of national frustration since Tuesday’s unprecedented presidential vote washed ashore in South Florida.

City of Miami police on the scene told Patch that the protesters were generally well behaved but that the rally forced the closure for a time of major highways like I-95 and MacArthur Causeway into South Beach as the Veterans Day protest spontaneously moved from the Bayfront Park Amphitheater, where it began.

It snaked its way along nearby highway entrances and through the busy commercial area surrounding Bayside Marketplace and American Airlines Arena.

Hundreds of people were still milling around the area even after 11 p.m.

Marchers chanted anti-Trump slogans like "He he, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go," "My p---- grabs back," and "Not my president."

Most appeared to be in their 20, 30s and 40s though some were noticeably older. Some people brought their children and dogs. Many were not born in the United States.

Their families came from Cuba and throughout Latin America in search of a better life.

Most were polite except when the conversation turned to President-elect Trump.

"I voted for Hillary. I voted for Bernie (Sanders) in the primary. I am a second-generation Miamian," explained 31-year-old Nina of Coral Gables.

Holding a sign that read, "Love United" on one side and "Little Hands. Little Plans" on the other, she told Patch that Tuesday's vote should be overturned.

"The Electoral College has yet to vote. The people have spoken and Hillary was chosen," she insisted, referring to the popular vote won by Clinton.

While some people didn't want to hold the Miami rally on Veterans Day out of respect for the holiday, Nina said both of her grandfathers wouldn't have minded a bit.

And they both served in the U.S. military.

"I think they would say, 'stand up for your country,'" she said.

Not everyone, who attended the rally, came to protest Trump's election.

Chaunce O'Connor rolled up in his wheelchair with an American flag spread across his lap to support the president-elect.

"He said things that I personally would not say. It's rude. But it's not illegal," he told Patch.

Then there was the couple who went out for a Friday night picnic only to find themselves bumper to bumper in paralyzing traffic as their car billowed smoke and smelled of antifreeze.

"I didn't think it was going to be this bad," said the driver, who didn't want to be identified. "I didn't think the car was going to blow."

Francesca Belluomini of Miami brought her 16-year-old daughter, Cecilia, and her daughter's friend, Noa, also 16, to the rally. Both teenagers have parents who are Hispanic.

They carried a sign that read, "Down With White Supremacy." Belluomini explained that a majority of the American people should decide the election rather than the electoral-based system that was prescribed by the Constitution.

"We elected a president that is not the president-elect," she claimed.

Holding sunflowers, a 33-year-old Miami man with "flamingo" pink hair, who called himself "Peace," said he didn't want to be left behind by the Trump administration.

"I just came out for support and solidarity, for all of us at risk," he told Patch.

Not far away, 18-year-old Lila Kreis of Miami shared a sign with her 20-year-old friend, Yaharay Alfonso, also of Miami. The sign showed a cat with the message, "Don't Grab My" above the image.

"The biggest problem is that voters don't realize how many people are in danger," said Kreis.

Photos by Paul Scicchitano