Donald Trump Inauguration And Protest Live Updates: Disruptions, Free Marijuana, More Planned Around Swearing-In Ceremony

UPDATE: 12:37 p.m. EST - Pope Francis has offered President Donald Trump his "cordinal good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office." The message was sent shortly after Trump was sworn-in Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, anti-Trump protests were still raging in Washington, D.C. Some were so contentious that a police officer was alleged to have committed a sexual assault, according to one person's tweet.

Demonstrations against Trump's presidency were also nunderway in other parts of the world, including Canada.

UPDATE: 12:13 p.m. EST - President Donald Trump's inauguration speech was very reminiscent of the addresses he delivered on the presidential campaign trail, speaking in no uncertain terms about his plans for the economy and immigration.

"Together we will determine the growth of America and the world for many, many years to come," he started out saying Friday "We will face challenges, we will confront hardships, but we will get the job done."

He then thanks outgoing President Barack Obama and the first lady for their support, calling them "magnificent."

But he then turned his attention to the U.S. citizens.

"Today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration or one party to another. We are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people," he said.

UPDATE: 12:00 p.m. EST - Donald Trump officially became the 45th president of the United States after U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swore-in the upstart politician at noon Friday.

UPDATE: 11:54 a.m. EST - Mike Pence was sworn in to become the new vice president of the United States by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas shortly before noon Friday in a brief ceremony. Pence was congratulated with hugs and handshakes from his family and nearby politicians including outgoing President Barack Obama before he gestured with an emotional wave to the audience.

UPDATE: 11:37 a.m. EST - Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York delivered the invocation before Paula White of the New Destiny Christian Center took that dais to read a prayer before Donald Trump gets inaugurated to become the next president.

Still, protests persisted, with at least one protester being kicked out of the inauguration shortly after the prayer was read.

UPDATE: 11:17 a.m. EST - Several generations of presidents and their wives were all in attendance and seated near one another at the inauguration late Friday morning. They included former presidents Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush and his wife Laura. Outgoing Vice President Joe Biden's wife Jill was also seated nearby.

Their entrances came before incoming President Trump's wife, Melania Trump, incoming Vice President Mike Pence and his wife and finally Obama and Biden.

UPDATE: 10:59 a.m. EST - Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with their spouses Laura Bush and ex-presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, have taken the dais for Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday in Washington.

Hillary Clinton also tweeted from her official account, declaring why she was attending the event after a highly contentious loss to Trump in the general election in November.

Trump is also in route to his inauguration in a motorcade with outgoing President Barack Obama.

UPDATE: 10:16 a.m. EST - As Donald Trump's inauguration draws closer, protestors are trying to block entrances to the event and police are removing some of them in Washington D.C. Friday.

UPDATED: 9:42 a.m. EST — Fights and contentious interactions continued to happen at the various protests sprinkled around the nation's capital in advance of Donald Trump's inauguration Friday.

Trump and his wife, Melania, visited with president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House Friday morning.

UPDATED: 9:12 a.m. EST — Ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration, protests grew very heated, including one instance of members from competing demonstrations coming to blows with each other. People from the Bikers For Trump rally were fighting with people involved in the #DisruptJ20 protest.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama may have tweeted his final message from the presidential @POTUS Twitter account, which he was set to bequeath to Trump. Obama's brief message thanked the nation helping to make him "a better leader and a better man."

The tweet garnered more than 34,000 likes and more than 17,000 retweets in less than 10 minutes after it was posted.

Original story:

As the U.S. was preparing for its 45th president to be sworn into office Friday, tens of thousands of people had already descended upon the nation's capital for a multitude of events surrounding the inauguration of Donald Trump. But before the swearing-in ceremony, a number of contentious protests, both planned and seemingly impromptu, broke out Thursday night and Friday morning.

A video from a Black Lives Matter protest showed a tense, violent situation there Friday morning.

Police used riot control tactics at an unrelated demonstration the same morning.

Elsewhere, another protest reportedly incited reaction by law enforcement on the scene.

However, spirits were also quite high in the Dupont Circle neighborhood in Northwest Washington, where a lengthy line of people had long formed to wait the mass distribution of free marijuana joints, an event organized by the DC Cannabis Coalition. District of Columbia voters elected to fully legalize the drug in 2015.

Demonstrators also gathered outside of the so-called Deploraball at the National Press Club in the city's Northwest quadrant Thursday night. Deploraball is a play on the term "deplorable," which Democratic presidential also-ran Hillary Clinton dubbed many of Trump's supporters during her unsuccessful campaign.

The event was for about 1,000 Trump supporters, but dozens of people opposing the incoming president blocked the National Press Club's main entrance in a showdown with law enforcement that resulted in pepper spray and tear gas being deployed in what could be a prelude to more of the same over the next couple of days.

But before those could happen, the 2017 inauguration weekend got off to a busy start on Thursday, beginning with Trump and his choice for vice president, soon-to-be-former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in a nearby Virginia suburb. From there, the soon-to-be first family attended the "Make American Great Again" concert at the Lincoln Memorial, featuring a number of musical acts and celebrities, including country music star Toby Keith and actor Jon Voight.

Voight set the tone for the pro-Trump crowd when he addressed the audience. "This is some day, dear friends," he said before referencing "a parade of propaganda that left us all breathless with anticipation, not knowing if God could reverse all the negative lies against Mr. Trump."

Later Thursday evening, the future first and second families were expected to join more supporters and other celebrities at a candlelight dinner at Union Station, the city's major transit hub that serves as a depot for public buses, the Metro subway system and Amtrak and commuter rail trains.

Other demonstrations planned for the weekend include the Women's March On Washington, which is decidedly anti-Trump, and Bikers for Trump, a group of motorcyclists rallying for the incoming president and his administration.

But, of course, the weekend is all about Friday's inauguration, which is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. local time at the West Front of the Capitol, where U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was slated to administer the oath of office to Trump at noon.