Inauguration protesters vandalize businesses, break windows

The D.C. police department said in a statement: “At approximately 10:30 a.m., an organized group was observed marching south in Northwest Washington. On their way, members of the group acting in a concerted effort engaged in acts of vandalism and several instances of destruction of property. More specifically, the group damaged vehicles, destroyed the property of multiple businesses and ignited smaller isolated fires while armed with crowbars, hammers, and asps.”

The police department said “numerous arrests have been made and those individuals have been charged with rioting.”

“Pepper spray and other control devices were used to control the criminal actors and protect persons and property,” the statement said. “During the incident, police vehicles were damaged and two uniformed officers sustained minor injuries from coordinated attacks by members of the group that were attempting to avoid arrest.”

A reporter with the Wall Street Journal also posted photos and videos on Twitter showing a “large group of anarchists in downtown Washington.” The images showed a person breaking a window at a McDonalds. A photo also showed broken windows at a Starbucks.

Kyle Feldscher and Sean Langille contributed