Thousands take to the streets to protest Trump win

They chanted anti-Donald Trump slogans. They flooded city streets. They gathered near the White House, disheartened and dismayed.

"Not my president, not today," many across the nation yelled.

In cities from Boston to Los Angeles, thousands of demonstrators gathered Wednesday night in protest of election results that mean the billionaire real estate developer will be the next president.

Live: Trump protests in several US cities

As many as 5,000 people were at a protest in New York, police estimated. Among the issues were immigration and Obamacare.

"I came out here to let go of a lot of fear that was sparked as soon as I saw the results," protester Nick Powers said. He said he feared Trump will support stronger stop-and-frisk policies that would put many people in prison. He was worried that Trump's victory would embolden sexist views.

Protester: I wonder how much sexism was at play

Many of the protests were in cities with large Democratic bases -- in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, Seattle and Washington.

In Chicago, people walked down a normally busy Lakeshore Drive, carrying signs.

In Austin, protesters blocked a highway. Students burned a flag on the campus of American University in Washington, and they walked out of class in high schools and colleges across the country the day after the presidential election.

In downtown Los Angeles, high school students crowded the steps of City Hall on Wednesday afternoon. Protester Brooklyn White was holding a sign that said "Hate won't win." The 18-year-old voted for Hillary Clinton and was disappointed.

"We can't let it stop us. If he's the president then fine, but if Donald Trump is gonna be it then he has to listen," she said.

At Berkeley High School in California, about 1,500 students walked out of classes Wednesday morning. In des Moines, Iowa it was hundred of high school students who left class to protest of election results. In Phoenix, about 200 students from Carl Hayden High School marched to the state Capitol in protest.

Earlier Wednesday, trash fires burned on an Oakland, California, highway as an illuminated sign in the nation's capital proclaimed that the United States was "better than bigotry."

White House candlelight vigil

A candlelight vigil for Clinton supporters in front of the White House on Wednesday evening drew those who wanted to mourn their election loss.

The peaceful crowd called out "you are not alone" to over 2,600 people watching the gathering on Facebook, organizers said.

Maybelline McCoy, an immigrant from Panama, came to the vigil with her three children.

"My biggest fear is that they will be limited, that they will see people being silenced and invalidated and that I won't be able to shield them," she said.

Protests after the vote count

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning after the votes were counted, one member of the crowd near the White House held an upside-down American flag, alongside the LGBT rainbow flag, in silent protest.

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com