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Divisive Presidential Campaign Breeds Backlash In Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Election 2016 will be one that will be talked about for years to come.

A divisive campaign bred the backlash we're continuing to see nightly on Baltimore's streets, WJZ's Mike Hellgren reports.

"If you went to one of these demonstrations, you'd see a diversity of concerns because it's a diverse coalition of people who he's offended and alienated," said Robert Cohen, political science professor.

Some believe protesters should press on.

"I think it's wonderful that they're expressing their feelings in a way that gets heard," said Margot Goodall.

Others, like Bobby Platt, say "enough."

"We just need to give it a break," Platt said. "Think of the positive for a change instead of the negative. Man won fair and square, whether you like him or not."

Former Johns Hopkins swim coach George Kennedy believes the campaign was bound to lead to the demonstrations that have snaked through the city.

"I think what you see is the division in the country, and what I'm hoping is that the president-elect and the whole country can pull together to try to create less of a divide," Kennedy said.

"This is what democracy is," said Reverend C.D. Witherspoon

You can usually find Rev. Witherspoon leading many of Baltimore's demonstrations.

"Baltimore is an interesting place. It's a microcosm of many of the issues that are taking place all over the country," Witherspoon said. "He's been very clear in terms of the way he feels about immigration. He's been very clear about the way he feels about police brutality and Black Lives Matter."

No matter where your politics lie, some are pleading for us all to get along.

"People just need to stop being so one-sided. They need to come together," one woman said. "Not what color they are, not where they're from from, not their ethnicity. We have to start treating each other as human beings."

From the protests on Thursday night, only three people were detained. One woman faces charges for failing to obey a lawful police order.

Donald Trump responded to the protests on Twitter:

 

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