Protesters from Black Lives Matter and other groups forced the shutdown early Friday morning of at least two inauguration security checkpoints, as demonstrators followed through on threats to disrupt President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural ceremonies.
(FOX)- The Black Lives Matter protesters at first started chaining themselves to fences in front of a checkpoint near the Capitol, after which the Secret Service closed the gates and shut down the entrance.
“We are here to let people know this presidency is not legit. It goes against hundreds of years of democracy — black lives matter,” BLM DC’s Tracye Redd told FoxNews.com.
The protest was mostly peaceful. At one point, the activists repeated the cry, “Shut it down!” Officers afterward were directing spectators to other entrances.
Another group temporarily forced the shutdown of a separate checkpoint nearby, as part of an operation apparently under the umbrella of DisruptJ20, which vowed to blockade and shut down security checkpoints.
Protesters at one checkpoint near the Inaugural Parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue before sunrise Friday had already tried to block a checkpoint by sitting in the streets. Police lifted them over a barricade, but no arrests were made.