FERC Protest, Evict the DNC, & Disrupt the DeploraBall on the Eve of Trump's Inauguration

Washington, D.C. – One day before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, protesters converged on Washington, D.C. to broadcast their anger about a variety of issues that are becoming more visible with the upcoming administration about to take office.

11:00 A.M. FERC – A group formed in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) building demanding to be allowed into the meeting taking place inside. When refused entry, they then moved to the front entrance to hold their rally.

Unicorn Riot was there to livestream the event.

1:00 P.M. Evict the DNC – Unicorn Riot also livestreamed a group marching to the Democratic National Headquarters holding a 10-foot tall sign reading “Betrayal” and carrying signs made of mirror paper and messages to reflect their views onto the Democratic Party.

7:30 P.M. Disrupt the DeploraBall – Playing off of Hillary Clinton’s reference to a basket of deplorables, a group of Trump supporters and members of the far right held a celebration called the “DeploraBall” at the National Press Building. The event had conflicts in planning when one of the organizers, Tim Treadstone, made anti-Semitic comments on Twitter and was subsequently dis-invited.

At the start of the celebration, a large group had gathered and were booing anyone trying to enter the event, chanting “Shame” and “Nazi Scum”. Many more arrived outside the event and tensions ran high between the protesters, pro-Trump supporters, and police, who were protecting attendees as they moved through the crowd towards the entrance.

Full view of crowd at Disrupt the Deploraball while Beastie Boys Sabotage plays #J20 #disruptj20 pic.twitter.com/gCfEx9KNSv

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) January 20, 2017

A small bonfire was kindled from one of the red “Make America Great Again” hats that Trump supporters were wearing throughout the city.

We interviewed Daryle Lamont Jenkins, founder of the One People’s Project about why people were protesting this event:

Basically there’s a lot of neofascists that are in there, pretending that they’re not neofascists…a lot of people are referring to them as the alternative right or alt-right and I refuse to do that…A lot of people are angry that they got this far, but they’re not getting any farther.” – Daryle Lamont Jenkins

As the night went on, the confrontations increased, as attendees attempted to leave the event and continue down the block. Police were heavily armed and deploying pepper spray. Restaurant and bar patrons could be seen observing and recording on their phones the streams of pepper spray feet away from which they were separated only by glass windows.

Police have peppersprayed the crowd while patrons locked down inside restaurants look on #J20 #disruptj20 https://t.co/3kHZQUNg6e pic.twitter.com/cMqrJkyFFt

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) January 20, 2017

The opera singer in the video below was singing on the corner while pedicabs and pedestrians passed by. As inauguration-eve celebrations took place for some, city life was unabated for others, adding an eerie tone to the clashes taking place just half a block away.

The organizers of the DeploraBall made efforts prior to the event to distance themselves from the racism of white nationalists, insisting that the people attending are “new right”.

But while the Deploraball organizers worked to denounce white nationalism, others proudly boasted about subscribing to such views.A man who identifies himself as Devin Saucier and has ties to white nationalists said while he had nothing against Cernovich, the attempt to sanitize the movement from white identity politics was a mistake. Other partygoers identified themselves as members of the alt-right movement when asked by Business Insider.”

The disruption of the Deploraball set the tone for protesters expressing their resistance to Trump’s followers and presidency in #DisruptJ20 blockades and marches throughout the following day.

Watch the full livestream here. Please note due to cell phone signal congestion some of the stream images are pixelated: