Shooting In Oregon As Anti-Donald Trump Protests Continue Nationwide (Updates)

Portland police on Saturday were investigating after a man reported to be an anti-Donald Trump protester was shot during a fourth night of demonstrations against the president-elect. Tens of thousands of Americans disappointed with the results of the 2016 presidential election continued to protest in cities around the nation including New York, Detroit, Boston and Miami.

Meanwhile, Islamophobic vandalism has been seen in various parts of the country, some of it appearing to support Trump.

The demonstration in Portland had been peaceful until late Friday, when, witnesses said, a person trying to drive across the bridge had a confrontation with some of the protesters who were blocking traffic. The driver told people to get off the bridge or else.

The driver then fired several shots, striking at least one person, witnesses reported.

Gregory McKelvey, whose group has organized the march, said the man who was shot was a peaceful protester.

A "love rally" at Manhattan's Washington Square Park transformed into another anti-Trump protest Friday and was moving uptown toward Trump Tower. Live updates here.

One of two rallies in Metro Detroit Friday was in response to a Wednesday incident in a Royal Oak Middle School cafeteria that left some minority students afraid for their safety.

Students began chanting “build the wall” — the same refrain chanted at Trump campaign rallies in response to his call for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border — and a video of the disturbance was subsequently viewed on social media. School officials strongly denounced the incident as outside the district’s core values.

"I saw the video of the Royal Oak kids saying 'build the wall' and that is why I'm here protesting against this whole atmosphere of racism," Southfield resident Bob Day told Patch Friday. "It's important to come out and stand in solidarity with immigrants and people who have their rights threatened by Trump. He has unleashed a racist reaction in this country. The new fascists wear coats and ties. The Democrats won't fight it. The Republicans won't fight it. We have to fight it."

Organizers of the Miami event told Patch that the 6 p.m. protest will include speakers from Black Lives Matter, pro-environment groups as well as pro-equality and anti-war activists. A reporter from the newly launched Miami Patch will be covering the protest.

“This is a non-violent protest. This is targeted at Trump,” organizers explained on Facebook. “This is targeted at his stated positons of misogyny, racism, anti-LGBTQ rights and violence, and anti-environmental priorities. This will extend to those who support those positions.”

In Boston, about 400 people had gathered in Boston Common by 4 p.m. Friday for a "Love Rally."

On Thursday, Trump called out "professional protesters" for being "very unfair" for protesting an "open and successful election," but early Friday morning he dialed that back, saying he loves the "small groups" of protesters' "passion for our great country."

Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 11, 2016

Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 11, 2016

Many Arab-Americans and American Muslims are anxious and worried that Trump’s charged rhetoric about “extreme vetting” of Muslim refugees and his other anti-immigration stances will make their way into domestic policy. The issue is deeply personal in Michigan, the top destination for Syrian refugees and an area with a high population of Arab-Americans.

Abed Ayoub, a Dearborn, Michigan, native who is the national legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said his office has received a barrage of questions from anxious Arab-American parents who worry if their children will be targeted in schools and others who don’t feel as safe as they did last week.

As president, Trump needs to calm those Americans’ fears, Ayoub said.

“Donald Trump did not invent hate crimes, discrimination and bigotry,” Ayoub noted, “but he provided a space for it to be normal.”

But Arab-Americans and Muslims aren’t the only Americans who are worried about the effects the Trump presidency will have.

Dearborn resident Joe McGuire brought his 3-year-old son, Oscar, to a rally, carrying homemade signs that read “we must resist” and “stand up to Trump.” He told The Detroit News that he wanted to send a clear message to Trump that showed Americans remain deeply divided and that those who oppose his policies aren’t going to fade away.

Protests in Portland Thursday night started out peacefully. Nearly 4,000 people gathered by Pioneer Courthouse Square and started marching through downtown.

But a group of around 125 people, many of them covering their faces with masks, started blocking traffic and vandalizing store windows. Nineteen cars at a car dealership were smashed with baseball bats and other objects. Marchers then headed back to the city's West Side where they started smashing the windows of local businesses in The Pearl District.

Police reported that some in the crowd were trying to stop the violence but were threatened by others. These actions led to the incident being labeled a "riot" by Portland Police due to what they said was criminal and dangerous behavior.

Around 9:30 p.m., Portland Police started urging peaceful protesters to return to Pioneer Courthouse Square where the march began and tried to separate the peaceful protesters from the violent ones.

Scattered anti-Donald Trump demonstrations across Midtown Manhattan all day Thursday grew into a hundreds-strong protest outside Trump Tower by nightfall. It was nowhere near the size of Wednesday night's rally, but appeared very much alive — and still picking up steam — by around 8 p.m.

"We reject the president-elect!" protesters chanted as they marched uptown and formed a crowd behind the police barricade erected across Fifth Avenue from Trump Tower. "Dump that Trump!" others chanted.

Just as they did the night before, protesters marched 45 blocks north to Trump Tower from Union Square. There also appeared to be another big group of demonstrators who stayed back to maintain a presence in Union Square.

In Minneapolis, protesters gathered Thursday night at the University of Minnesota and marched onto Interstate 94, blocking the highway for about 45 minutes. In Columbus, Ohio, a massive protest — a Facebook event page said 1,500 participated — took to the streets. Violence was not reported at the Minneapolis and Columbus protests.

While the anti-Trump fervor continues to inspire marches, reports of vandalism targeting minorities continue, with some of the perpetrators expressing pro-Trump sentiments, seemingly emboldened by his divisive yet ultimately successful campaign.

In East Haddam, Connecticut, a woman's sign expressing a message of hope and inclusion was marred by "TRUMP 2016" graffiti. Her sign had read “Dear Muslims, Immigrants Women, Disabled, LGBTQ folks & All People of Color, WE LOVE YOU; boldly & proudly, we will endure.”

On Wednesday, a culprit scrawled "Trump!" onto the door to a Muslim prayer room at New York University.

Dozens of NYU alums commented on the NYU Muslim Students Association's Facebook post about the defacement, saying they were disgusted that something like this could happen on the campus of their alma mater.

"Because many of Trumps followers were against Muslims--many considered their entire religion as a terrorist group," one commenter said. "Writing Trumps name on this door is like writing hitler's name on a jewish person's desk. It's just a name, but a name with meaning."

Pro-Trump graffiti had been reported in several other places across New York state following the NYC businessman's presidential win. In Wellsville, a swastika and the words "MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN" were spray-painted onto a baseball dugout.

In stark contrast, the sidewalk at the Islamic Center of Nashville offers a decidedly different message. It is brimming with messages of love, encouragement and unity, including "We see you and we want you here!"; "We love you!"; and "Thank you for making our town more beautiful."

It began as an impromptu project of East Nashville's April Benson-Scearce who grabbed some chalk and her 3-year-old son Thursday morning and headed west. She wanted to make sure the city's Muslims know that there were people who would stand beside them. As she drew, she asked passers-by to chip in, and chip in they did, with dozens of people adding their own messages and cheerful pictures to the project.

Patch staff Alison Bauter, William Bornhoft, Beth Dalbey, Sarah Kaufman, JR Lind, Mera McKenna, Colin Miner, Chris Mosby, Paul Scicchitano, RJ Scofield and Simone Wilson contributed to this report.

Photo and video by Mera McKenna