UPDATE 7:14 P.M.:
Thousands of protesters gathered at San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza this evening despite heavy rains.
The protest started around 5 p.m.
By 6:10 p.m. the crowd had grown significantly and began leaving the area, heading towards the Castro on Market Street.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) — At least 29 people were arrested Friday on suspicion of failing to disperse as thousands of people protested President Donald Trump’s inauguration, braving the wind and rain to hold demonstrations at several different locations throughout San Francisco.
At 9 a.m., a large crowd with as many 3,000 protesters marched from Justin Herman Plaza to 555 California Street, shutting down several streets in the city’s Financial District along the way.
During the march, protesters stopped at many key spots, including One Sansome Street, which houses several tech companies, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at 630 Sansome Street, the Consulate General of Israel at 456 Montgomery Street as well as several Well’s Fargo locations.
According to organizers, the locations are symbols of oppression. “We’re not going to accept the policies that Trump has set forward.
Whether they be immigration related or social related, including police force and allowing them to abuse marginalized people,” Housing Coordinator with La Raza Centro Legal’s Housing Coordinator Carlos Bocanegra said.
“It’s the people that are going to stand up to Trump and his polices and we’re going to make sure that he knows that he can’t divide a country,” Bocanegra said.
During his election campaign, Trump had said he would deport millions undocumented immigrants, in addition to building a wall along the U.S. Mexican border. He also said he would create a Muslim registry, in order to track the whereabouts of Muslim people in this country.
Protesters also blocked the entrance to the Consulate General of Israel, citing Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its ties to American politics.
“The Israeli consulate symbolizes imperialism and colonization not only in the US but in the entire Arab world,” Executive Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center Lara Kiswani said.
“As we resist racism here, we resist the murder, the killing and the ethnic cleansing of third world people everywhere. This movement is not just about the U.S., this movement is about liberation, dignity, and self determination for all oppressed people,” Kiswani said.
Additionally, protesters blocked entrances to several Wells Fargo locations, as Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, is a board member there.
The bank has been under fire for a recent scandal in which employees opened fraudulent accounts without customers’ consent, in addition to allegations that the bank is a major investor of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would have been built on sacred indigenous lands.
By about noon, the protestors had reached 555 California Street, which is partially owned by Trump and also houses investment bank Goldman Sachs. Several of Trump’s nominees have been tied to Goldman Sachs, including Treasury nominee Steven Mnuchin and Securities and Exchange Commission nominee Jay Clayton.
“We will be in these streets, we will resist and we will not take this lying down. You being in the white house does not mean you won, we are the people, we have the energy, we have the strength,” Kat Brooks, organizer with the Anti-Police Terror Project, said. “We will put our bodies on the line every single day to protect our most marginalized people.”
As many as 300 high school students walked out of their schools and joined the demonstration, according to organizers.
As the rally concluded, several protestors cleared the streets and gathered at the A.P. Giannini Plaza in front of 555 California Street, where there were drum and spoken word performances.
Although the demonstration at the Financial District appeared to be the largest, other smaller demonstrations earlier Friday morning in the city resulted in some arrests.
Eleven people demonstrating on the Caltrain tracks on 16th Street near Mississippi Street were arrested, according to Caltrain spokeswoman Tasha Bartholomew.
At about 8:39 a.m., service was halted as the protesters linked arms with PVC-pipes that had the word “RESIST” written on them.
By about 11:30 a.m., the protesters were arrested and the tracks were cleared, Bartholomew said.
The transit service said while they respect people’s right to peacefully protest, they want to stress that blocking the tracks is not only illegal but also very dangerous for both the trespassers and riders on the
trains.
Additionally, about eight people were arrested outside the Uber headquarters, located at 1455 Market Street.
At about 7 a.m., eight people chained themselves to the front door of the building while others held up a large banner on Market Street, reading, “Uber collaborates with Trump.”
“There will be no business as usual at Uber headquarters Friday,” Sarah Nelson, organizer with the Inlandboatmen’s Union said.
“Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is part of Trump’s economic and policy forum… We here in SF know that Uber is a local bad actor. Uber has destroyed good jobs and replaced them with precarious, temporary employment,” Nelson said.
The eight people who blocked the entrance to the building were taken by police at about 10:40 a.m.
In response to the protest, Uber said in a statement, “As a company we’re committed to working with government on issues that affect riders, drivers and the cities where we operate. Just as we worked with the Obama Administration, we’ll work with the Trump Administration, too.”
During the Inauguration ceremony this morning in Washington D.C., Trump made brief mentions regarding immigration, but did not mention a Muslim registry he had proposed earlier in his campaign.”From this day forward a new vision will govern our land.
“From this day forward a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward it’s going to be only America first, America first,” Trump said. “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs
will be made to benefit American workers and American families.”
“We will get our people off welfare and back to work rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor,” he said. “We will follow two simple rules — buy American and hire American.”
Another protest is planned for this evening at 5 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza, according to organizers.
Meanwhile in Santa Rosa, northbound Mendocino Avenue has been shut down from College Avenue to Pacific Avenue/Santa Rosa Junior College due to a large protest.