2 Indiana cops lightly hurt by rocks at anti-Trump rally

Indianapolis police said two officers have been slightly injured and seven protesters arrested after demonstrators threw rocks during a march in opposition to the election of Donald Trump.

Police Chief Troy Riggs told a news briefing that most of the hundreds of protesters marched peacefully in downtown Indianapolis for several hours on Saturday but a small group became more aggressive later in the evening.

Police spokesman Major Richard Riddle said some of the group began threatening officers, including chants of “Kill the Police.” They began throwing rocks at officers and police moved in and arrested them.

Riggs said that of seven arrests, four were from Indianapolis and three from out of town.

Police suspect that some instigators arrived from other cities and tried to cause a riot. He praised police for their patience during the demonstration, saying that were trying to allow a peaceful protest. Police said they did use pepper balls at one point during the confrontation.

The police officers who were injured may not even need to go to the hospital to be checked out, Riggs said.

Tens of thousands of people marched in streets across the United States on Saturday, staging the fourth day of protests of Trump’s surprise victory as president.

The protests — held in big cities like New York and Chicago as well as smaller ones, such as Worcester, Massachusetts, and Iowa City, Iowa — were largely peaceful Saturday.

Protesters rallied at New York’s Union Square before taking their cause up Fifth Avenue toward Trump Tower, where they were held back by police barricades.

The Republican president-elect was holed up inside his tower apartment, working with aides on the transition to the White House.

Among those railing against him was filmmaker Michael Moore, who tweeted a demand that Trump “step aside.”

In Los Angeles, several thousand people marched through downtown streets Saturday to condemn what they saw as Trump’s hate speech about Muslims, pledge to deport people in the country illegally and crude comments about women.

Protests were mainly peaceful, but in Portland, Oregon, a man who was participating in a march early Saturday was shot after a confrontation with someone in a vehicle. Police expect the man to survive and detained four people in connection with the shooting. A motive for the shooting was unclear. The four people detained are believed to be gang members, but the victim is not.

The shooting followed rowdy Friday night protests, when police used tear gas in response to “burning projectiles” thrown at officers, police said on Twitter. Hundreds of people marched through the city, disrupting traffic and spray-painting graffiti.

Authorities reported instances of vandalism and assault during a rally that organizers had billed as peaceful earlier in the day.