Protesters flow through downtown Denver, police officers line up to keep the peace

Hundreds of protesters — led by a front line of young, racially diverse and mostly female people — wound through downtown Denver Friday morning, carrying cash-leaking effigies of President Donald Trump and waving signs mourning the loss of civility, ethics and compassion and calling out threats to civil rights.

“We’re protesting pretty much what Donald Trump represents,” said Juan Evangelista of Denver.

The march traveled from Civic Center, through the city’s central business district and ran up the west stairs of the state Capitol, passing crowds of men wearing motorcycle gear with patches reading “Bikers Against Radical Islam” and a man wearing a tall Uncle Sam hat handing out free American flags and carrying a sign reading “God Bless Our Veterans, Police, Firefighters.”

Denver police on bicycles rode alongside the marchers, and a trail of police cars and an ambulance followed to block traffic and keep the roads clear for the protesters.

The march paused every few blocks and the crowd’s chants would grow louder. A variety of causes were represented — health care, immigration, women’s rights, refugees, LGBTQ.

“Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Donald Trump must go,” the people said. And, “The people united will never be divided.”

Most protesters marched peacefully, waving their signs and chanting. A few tried — unsuccessfully — to incite violence. No arrests or injuries were reported, said Doug Schepman, a Denver police spokesman.

Office workers peered from windows, and one group of construction workers cheered from their perches on the metal beams of an office building under construction.

Most onlookers appeared to support the protesters. One woman told her male companion, “I can’t wait for tomorrow,” in reference to the Women’s March on Denver, planned for Saturday morning.

But some showed disdain for the spectacle.

“Go home, guys,” one man said as we waved his arm toward the march.

Evangelista, who was marching with Padres & Jovenes Unidos, an advocacy group for Latino children, said it was important to take a stand on the first day of Trump’s administration.

“There was a lot of rhetoric during his campaign that made our community feel under attack,” he said. “We want to be treated with civility and justice.”