Thousands of people in Boston took to the streets Wednesday night to protest the election of Donald Trump, one of many rallies taking place across the country.
Elan Axelbank didn't know what to expect. But as he watched the election results pour in early Wednesday morning, he knew he had to do something. So the Socialist Alternative organizer created a Facebook page advertising a rally later that night.
"When we were calling the protest the question was, will this resonate?" Axelbank wondered. "Will people want to come out to this?"
On Wednesday night, more than 4,000 people turned out marching peacefully through the streets of Boston.
"If somehow we can stop him from becoming president, I'd much rather him not be president, that is for sure," Axelbank said. "We don't want to totally remove that from the realm of possibility."
"The most likely thing is he becomes president and we have to do what we can to fight against his agenda," he added.
On Thursday morning, Gov. Charlie Baker welcomed the protests, as long as they stayed peaceful.
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"If people want to come out and make their voices heard, we are going to make sure they are able to do that in a peaceful and collaborative way," the Governor said.
Two days after the election, many in Boston still trying to digest the news.
"I said yesterday I felt like Kennedy got shot, I was born a few years before he was shot, or 9/11 when the planes hit the building, that was the feeling I had yesterday," Bill O'Brien said.
Dan Gebhart wasn't feeling much better.
"How are you feeling? Like I have been punched in the gut, bent over double trying to catch my breath, it just wild that we have elected Donald Trump," he said. "He just doesn't care about anyone but himself."
Meanwhile, Axelbank was organizing a second night of gathering for Thursday night. He said the group would meet in a smaller space to outline a longterm agenda.
"It is important that we don't just kind of burn ourselves out," he said. "This needs to be a lasting movement, to last."
"Trump is President is going to be four years at least, you know, what we need to do is get organized and figure out not only what are we fighting against, but what are we fighting for," he added.
