Trump protesters shut down I-80 in Iowa City

Editor's note: This story has been updated with information provided by the Iowa State Patrol.

More than 100 protesters shut down Interstate 80 on Friday night.

Marching from downtown Iowa City along Dubuque Street to I-80, the protesters walked down the ramp onto the interstate, blocking eastbound traffic for nearly 30 minutes, protesting the results of the presidential election earlier this week.

Iowa City police officers in patrol cars stayed with the group as they reached the interstate. Iowa State Patrol officers responded to the demonstration Friday night shortly after they were notified, Sgt. Nathan Ludwig said, and spoke with the protesters. In 19 minutes, Ludwig said, 77 protesters were removed from the roadway, and the group dispersed around 5:30 p.m., turning around and walking back along Dubuque Street toward downtown.

Three hours earlier in a separate protest, nearly 200 students walked out of class at City High School, marching from the school to the pedestrian mall in downtown Iowa City.

The march to the interstate began after a "Not My America" protest at the Pentacrest, though the march was not planned by organizers. By 4:30 p.m. Friday, dozens gathered and delivered short speeches for the event, then the crowd marched around the downtown area before heading to the interstate.

Laura Shorey, 33, said she joined the protest because she wanted to "let it be known" that President-elect Donald Trump does not represent her.

"He doesn't represent me or my values, and I've been crying for days," she said.

Shorey said she stayed with the group that traveled from the Pentacrest to the interstate out of a sense of "passion, and a feeling that I have to stand up for what I believe in." She described standing near the interstate ramp off Dubuque Street as drivers in a backed-up line of traffic honked their horns.

Shorey said the group heard there was a crash and chose to leave so no one would get hurt, and said the police presence around them felt friendly.

She said she is unsure how the election results will impact the country, but she's "going to to do everything (she) can to fight," particularly for those who feel threatened, including members of minority groups and the LGBTQ community.

"I will do everything I can to protect them," she said.

Interim Iowa City Police Chief Bill Campbell said no arrests were made during or after the protests and, to his knowledge, no injuries were reported. He said, though, that protesters walking onto the interstate — forcing vehicles to brake suddenly — is a "recipe for disaster."

"The traffic on the interstate moves at a pretty good pace and there certainly were bigger vehicles that were having to stop fairly suddenly, and those vehicles don't always slow that easily," he said. "We want to avoid having some kind of catastrophic event."

The police department understands that groups may want to express their frustrations through public demonstration, Campbell said, and it is the department's goal to allow public expression. But there are significant safety concerns about walking onto the interstate, he said.

"We have a responsibility to make sure that people in town are safe, and a responsibility to those who are protesting to make sure that they're safe during these activities. It's a fine line we'll have to balance, as it always is," Campbell said. "Protesting on and blocking the interstate is a dangerous deal. I think that you'll find there will be less of an ability for us to allow that to happen. It's just too dangerous."

Lucia McNeal said she chose not to follow the group out onto the interstate because of safety concerns.

She said she decided to join the group earlier because "so many human rights are being violated with the results of the election," adding this affects her and people she loves. However, she said these issues cannot be solved through protest alone.

"You can't just protest and go home. It's going to be ongoing, and it's going to be really hard," she said.

There are more planned traffic stops on the interstate, said Hodna Nuernberg, a visiting instructor at the University of Iowa who was marching Friday. She said groups will try to block interstate traffic on a nightly basis, doubling as a protest of President-elect Trump and a show of solidarity with other frustrated community members.

"We're going to grow bigger, louder and we're going to be out here longer, exercising our rights and fighting against hate," she said.

Campbell said to prepare for possible weekend demonstrations and traffic leaving the night Hawkeye football game, the Iowa City Police Department will have extra staff on duty.

"We'll also try to maintain some open channels with those who intend to be involved in demonstration activities to see what it is that they have planned," he said. "It's our intention to allow for peaceful protest that doesn't impact safety, property damage or personal injury-type activities, and we'll go from there."

Earlier in the night, Caroline Cheung, 23, a Ph.D. student in the University of Iowa's English program who organized the "Not My America" gathering, said the protests were not simply an expression of anger about the outcome of the presidential election.

"Many of us feel like this all goes beyond just the presidency and that the values that have been espoused are very much misogynistic, racist, homophobic, xenophobic and really were perpetuated throughout (Trump's) campaign and by his constituency," she said. "It's really about hoping for a climate that does get better and one that we can all be proud — as Americans — to be a part of. That's going to involve being accountable and responsible and inclusive."