Update 11/11/16: This article has been updated to reflect additional events that took place Thursday night.
For the third night in a row since Donald Trump’s presidential win, Berkeley protesters took to the streets Thursday, with some joining protests of about 1,000 in Oakland.
More than 70 protesters gathered near Sproul Plaza after 6 p.m. for the second local protest organized by By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, later marching down Telegraph Avenue and through campus residential units. When it ended about 7:30 p.m., a small group merged with a larger protest in Oakland, which initially gathered about 5 p.m.
Since election night, many protests have occurred in Berkeley, Oakland and throughout the country. While the demonstrations in Oakland on Tuesday night were peaceful, the protests in the area Wednesday took a hostile turn, resulting in dozens of arrests and citations.
While seven businesses in Oakland were reported vandalized at Thursday’s protest, the demonstration was largely nonviolent. Oakland Police Department made at least 11 arrests and issued seven citations in Oakland for crimes including assault on officers, vandalism, failure to disperse and public intoxication, according to a press release. One person arrested was carrying a cache of Molotov cocktails.
UC Berkeley senior Charity Mostafa, a woman of color from an immigrant family, said she joined both nights of the BAMN-led protests in Berkeley as a way to cope with Trump’s imminent presidency.
“Protesting might not cause a big change,” Mostafa said. “A lot of people don’t understand that.”
BAMN protesters received encouraging honks from cars passing by as they flooded the streets and turned on to Durant Avenue to move through Unit 1 and eventually Unit 3. Students in the residence halls cheered and some joined. UCPD officers trailed behind on bicycles as protesters blocked traffic on their way to Shattuck Avenue.
“We got to be voting with our feet,” said BAMN organizer Yvette Felarca to the crowd. “Are you ready to take a stand?”
The crowd gathered at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center for a final speech from Felarca. Afterward, some Berkeley protesters went to Oakland to join demonstrators near Frank Ogawa Plaza.
About 9:00 p.m., OPD made announcements declaring the demonstration an unlawful assembly.
A group of more than 600 protesters then moved to the I-580 eastbound about 9:30 p.m. after breaking through a fence to climb onto the freeway.
California Highway Patrol officers arrested Oakland residents Jamari Lee Mitchell, 22, and Hannah Gavagan, 28, who were booked at Santa Rita Jail on misdemeanor charges for blocking a roadway and resisting arrest.
“It’s a way to show support towards this cause,” said Alain Camba, an Oakland resident. “Even if we’re like, yelling and causing all this … the numbers count and these people are actually interested.”
Once off the freeway, CHP officers in riot gear surrounded the group under the I-580 freeway overpass and contained them for about 10 minutes before allowing them to exit.
Some members of the crowd assaulted police officers with M-80s, bottles and Molotov cocktails, according to an OPD press release. No OPD officers or protesters, however, were reported injured.
OPD walked alongside protesters to keep them on the right side of the street and prevent them from blocking traffic. When the crowd approached about 30th Street and Broadway, OPD began throwing tear gas at demonstrators.
“The protest has been peaceful. … Oakland PD has been great,” said protester Victor Aguilar, a San Leandro resident. “Everyone’s is speaking their mind. … The electoral college shows that Donald Trump won, but come Dec. 19, I think a new president will be in store.”
By about 11:30 p.m., the number of protesters had dwindled with most dispersing after police cleared the streets. BAMN does not plan to organize another protest Friday night but may try to in the next few days, according to BAMN organizer Mark Airgood.
