Hundreds of people gathered in Portland’s Monument Square Wednesday evening to protest and demonstrate solidarity following the election of Donald Trump as president.
The peaceful gathering was attended by people disappointed about the outcome of Tuesday’s election.
When it ended, dozens of participants marched down Congress Street toward Portland City Hall carrying signs that said “Love Trumps Hate,” “Not My President” and “Keep Hate Out of Maine.”
One person even carried a Bernie Sanders sign. Sanders won Maine’s Democratic primary but was unsuccessful in his bid to win the party’s presidential nomination.
The gathering was one of dozens of similar events held across the country that were organized by Ariel Berstein.
“Those of us in immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities are threatened. We reject and are prepared to resist attacks on all of our communities, and we commit to care for, look out for, and stand with one another. An attack on any of us is an attack on all of us,” the organization said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
A candlelight vigil also was scheduled to be held Wednesday evening at 9:30 p.m. outside the Bates College Chapel in Lewiston.
“We must show support to black lives, to environmentalists, to Muslims, to women, and many more underrepresented populations,” organizers of the Bates College gathering wrote.
Correction: This story was updated at 10:16 a.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2016 to correct the name of the events’ organizer.
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