Inauguration Day Protests: Portland Mayor Appeals for Calm

In the days after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, the streets of Portland were filled with protests that often turned violent. More than 100 people were arrested as vandalism caused thens of thousands of dollars in damage to area businesses.

With Trump set to be inaugurated on Friday, Portland's new mayor - Ted Wheeler - is hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened in November.

"Vandalism hurts our community," he said at a press conference Wednesday. "Most businesses in Portland are local businesses."

Wheeler said that while "peaceful protests are the bedrock of our democracy," he has tasked the police bureau to make sure that those protesting peacefully are not disrupted - as happened in November - by a smaller group intent on causing problems.

"I want to make it clear that will not be something we will tolerate," Wheeler said. "We are not going to allow people to go on freeways, that's for the safety of everyone. We'll do our level-best to stop people from blocking public transit."

Wheeler was joined by Chief of Police Michael Marshman.

"We don't want random acts of violence, potential of personal injury," Marshman said. "We'll do our very best to make sure people can move around and lawfully protest."

Events are planned for Portland on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. More than 34,000 people have signed up to participate in a Women's March on Saturday afternoon.