Pitt students take to streets after Trump victory
At approximately 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning following the imminent Donald J. Trump victory, University of Pittsburgh students began to riot on campus.
Pittsburgh Police and campus police blocked off Fifth and Forbes Avenue to allow the protesters to safely protest, who chanted “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!”
Acting officers attempted to block off intersections to stop the rioters from progressing throughout the campus’ streets. The students were not easily deterred by the efforts of the police and continued their demonstration as more and more students joined in.
The protest participants encouraged other students to actively take part by yelling at them to “don’t just stand there” and “come on, take to the streets!”
The riots turned violent when participants started to deface public property such as construction signs and trash cans, throw objects at buildings, and drag barricades to block off intersections and roads. Police began to move in in these instances, though they didn’t engage the crowd directly.
The rioters halted for a short time in the middle of an intersection to chant, “Our streets, our streets, our streets!”
Police cars dispersed the crowd by blaring their sirens and herding the crowd back to center campus. The students continued their protest through the streets of upper campus with the officers not being able to successfully deter the outrage.
Kirk Breiner, a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh and a Trump supporter, told The Pitt Maverick what he thought of the protests.
“I saw people throwing trash cans, construction signs, and traffic cones. I was afraid to wear my MAGA hat around and openly support my candidate around these people,” he said.
Along with the rioting, students created a “healing circle” for minority groups on the Hillman Library patio.
This isn’t the first instance of anti-Trump fervor for students on the University of Pittsburgh; Trump supporters earlier had their table flipped and have been verbally attacked.
This article was originally publishedin The Pitt Maverick, a conservative student newspaper affiliated with the Leadership Institute's Campus Leadership Program. Its articles are republished here with permission.
FollowThe Pitt Maverickon Twitter: @ThePittMaverick
