DAYTON — Several hundred activists marched through Dayton Friday night in what organizers described as an effort to hold President-elect Donald Trump accountable for his words during the presidential campaign.
The protest that began at Courthouse Square downtown and boomeranged through the city’s Oregon District stretched several blocks. Activists were received by observers with jeers, cheers and a cacophony of honks by RTA drivers and motorists.
More than 300 people gave RSVPs on Facebook for the locally organized event, which began at 5:30 p.m. and was observed without physical incident. The march mirrored many in cities across the nation in the days following the general election.
Berkeley Moore, 66, of Dayton, said he is concerned about Trump’s presidency and that he had not been previously by other president-elects he did not support. Moore said he was supporting fellow minorities who are “on edge right now.”
“This is a situation where you don’t know what this person is going to do,” Moore said. “During the Bush administration, we kind of knew in a way. We kind of knew what was coming. But we don’t know what’s coming with this guy.”
The president-elect issued two tweets expressing his opinions of people protesting his victory this week.
“Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!” wrote Trump on Thursday. By Friday morning, the president-elect tweeted, “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!”
Christopher Perkins, of Dayton, organized the event. He said the activists were not assembled to protest Trump taking office, but rather to show solidarity and hold the president-elect accountable for his statements and actions of some Trump supporters.
“When I have Muslim friends who are walking down the street and being mocked, with their clothes being ripped off, or black friends who are being called (expletive) now — while there has been racism in our country for a long time, Trump has validated it and the true colors of our nation are shown,” Perkins said.
One Trump supporter carried a U.S. flag and sign. The man — who identified himself only by the alias “Rifleman Dodd,” a character in the eponymous 1932 novel on the official U.S. Marines reading list — said the protesters were peaceful.
“I understand I’m agitating them a little bit, but I’ve gotten hugs and handshakes,” he said. “This is good stuff.”