On January 20, 2017, as Donald Trump assumed the presidency after his surprise victory months before, many were anxious about what lay ahead. Throughout his campaign the reality TV star turned presidential contender had repeatedly shown his deep-seated authoritarian tendencies.

Before, during, and after Trump was sworn in, on the streets of Washington DC, authoritarianism was on full display. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) deployed flash grenades, tear gas, and “stingers” against protesters. Early in the day the MPD engaged in kettling, an intimidation tactic in which police pen in everyone in a given area and arrest them en masse. The kettling resulted in the arrest of over two hundred protesters, journalists, and legal observers.

Mass arrests of protesters (and inevitably, bystanders) are not new for the MPD, but this was the first time police had deployed the tactic since at least 2005. High-profile mass arrests of World Bank and antiwar protesters in DC had sparked a public backlash, and the city ultimately paid out millions of dollars to those arrested. Fed up with the police’s antics, the DC city council passed legislation meant to protect the right to protest and curb police power.