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BERKELEY'S NEWS • NOVEMBER 18, 2023

Berkeley protest erupts after Donald Trump wins presidency

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MIKAELA RAPHAEL | STAFF

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NOVEMBER 09, 2016

Update 11/09/16: This article has been updated to reflect new information about the protest damage and the status of an injured protester.  

Shortly after Donald Trump won the presidency on Tuesday night, more than 200 students poured into the streets of Berkeley, headed toward Oakland City Hall.

At about 11:30 p.m., protesters began marching down Telegraph Avenue in response to the presidential election results, chanting “Not my president” and lighting flares. After crossing into Oakland, protesters jumped onto Highway 24, with the scene quickly becoming chaotic.

“We don’t feel the government is hearing our voices when we say Donald Trump is not our president,” said UC Berkeley sophomore Esmeralda Cortez, who was at the protest. “The fact that he’s our new president says a lot about where our future and our generations are heading.”

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Mikaela Raphael/Staff

A woman was hit by a car at about 12:15 a.m. on the eastbound side of the freeway near Claremont, with multiple reports that the driver of the car allegedly tried to flee the scene. Protesters subsequently created a barricade to stop the car and attempted to break the glass.

Paramedics later came to treat the victim and traffic was contained to one-lane.

California Highway Patrol transported the victim to a hospital with major injuries, according to CHP Officer Damian Cistaro. CHP also attempted to contain the protest, telling students to go home.

The woman is currently being treated at Highland Hospital in Oakland. The hospital described her condition as stable on Wednesday, according to CHP spokesperson Officer Sean Wilkenfeld.

After the incident, protesters exited the highway and began marching toward Oakland City Hall, where Oakland Police Department officers in riot gear blocked protesters at the intersections of Broadway and 14th Street and Broadway and 11th Street, as of 2:20 a.m.

One protester lit a newspaper stand on fire that was put out by police shortly after. According to OPD spokesperson Joe Wolfcale, five businesses in the downtown Oakland area reported vandalism to OPD as a result of the protest, including broken windows and graffiti. Protesters also set multiple garbage cans on fire, according to Wolfcale.

Oakland Police Officer Clifford Doan said that OPD would continue to hold the line until the protest was “under control.” According to Berkeleyside, OPD gave first orders for protesters to clear the streets at around 2:45 a.m.

The Trump victory was a stunning defeat for Hillary Clinton, who many projected to win prior to the votes being counted. Earlier on Sproul Plaza, students watching the election began burning Trump dolls as he pulled ahead in electoral votes.

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Mikaela Raphael/Staff

Juan Alvarado, a campus third year transfer student, said he was at the Sproul watch party for hours then went home when it seemed obvious to him that Trump was winning.

“Then I heard the chanting, and I knew I was done coping,” Alvarado said, who later joined the protest.

Another protest is scheduled to take place on Sproul Plaza tomorrow at 12 p.m.

Contact The Daily Californian News Staff at 

LAST UPDATED

NOVEMBER 09, 2016


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