2nd LD-Writethru: Protesters turn violent as Trump sworn in as U.S. President

Some U.S. protesters smashed windows of stores and cars in Washington on Friday just before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. President.

One hour ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, about 500 anti-Trump protesters, many of whom are black-clad, marched through streets near the White House in downtown Washington, holding banners such as "No Hate, No Place" and "Make Racists Afraid Again."

Police in riot gear used stun grenades and pepper spray to disperse the protesters after they smashed windows of a local Bank of America branch, a Starbucks store, a McDonald restaurant and some cars by throwing stones, media reports said.

Earlier in the morning, many protesters tried to block several entrances into the Inaugural Parade route on the Pennsylvania Avenue, as many Trump supporters waited for checking in.

But most of the protests across the capital city, organized by anti-Trump groups including the Disrupt J20, the ANSWER Coalition and Black Lives Matter, were peaceful amid heavy security.

Massive security was imposed in downtown Washington Friday as many streets around the White House and Capitol Hill were blocked, creating a heavily fortified security zone.

As many as 28,000 security officials, including some 7,800 National Guard troops, were deployed to guard the checkpoints and the Parade Route.

Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States at a swearing-in ceremony held at the Capitol Hill on Friday, which was attended by about 900,000 people.

Trump, an outspoken New York billionaire and former TV entertainment celebrity, stunned the world by winning the presidential election in November, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Trump, an outsider that has no political experience, won strong support from many white working-class voters, by vowing to shake up a political system that many Americans blame for failing them.

But the brash billionaire has widely been criticized for making divisive and controversial remarks during his campaign.

In fact, Trump won the election with nearly 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton, the Democrat candidate.

Trump is the least popular U.S. President-elect in modern history, with only 40 percent favorable ratings among Americans, according to a recent ABC/The Washington Post poll. Enditem