MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Anti-Trump demonstrators march in cities across United States

In New York, thousands filled streets in midtown Manhattan as they made their way to Trump Tower, Trump's gilded home on Fifth Avenue.

Demonstrators marched in cities across the United States on Wednesday to protest against Republican Donald Trump's surprise presidential election win, blasting his campaign rhetoric about immigrants, Muslims and other groups. In New York, thousands filled streets in midtown Manhattan as they made their way to Trump Tower, Trump's gilded home on Fifth Avenue. Hundreds of others gathered at a Manhattan park and shouted “Not my president.”

 A demonstration of about 6,000 people blocked traffic in Oakland, California, police said. Protesters threw objects at police in riot gear, burned trash in the middle of an intersection, set off fireworks and smashed store front windows. Police responded by throwing chemical irritants at the protesters.

In downtown Chicago, an estimated 1,800 people gathered outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower, chanting phrases like “No Trump! No KKK! No racist USA.” Chicago police closed roads in the area, impeding the demonstrators' path. There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence there.

In Los Angeles, protesters sat on the 101 Hollywood Freeway, blocking traffic as police in riot gear watched. A rally and march drew more than 5,000 people, many of whom were high school and college students, earlier in Los Angeles, local media reported.

Seattle, police responded to a shooting with multiple victims near the scene of anti-Trump protests. Police said it was unrelated to the demonstrations. Protesters railed against Trump's campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico to keep immigrants from entering the United States illegally.

Hundreds also gathered in Philadelphia, Boston and Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday evening. In Austin, the Texas capital, about 400 people marched through the streets, police said.

A representative of the Trump campaign did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the protests. Trump said in his victory speech he would be president for all Americans, saying: “It is time for us to come together as one united people.”

Earlier this month, his campaign rejected the support of a Ku Klux Klan newspaper and said that “Mr. Trump and his campaign denounces hate in any form.”

Wednesday's demonstrations followed a night of protests in the San Francisco area and elsewhere in the country in response to Trump's victory against heavily favored Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.