Protesters outside the building chanted “Nazi scum” at DeploraBall attendees. | AP Police pepper spray anti-Trump protesters outside 'DeploraBall' event

Protesters gathered outside an inaugural party celebrating President-elect Donald Trump were pepper sprayed Thursday night, kicking off what is likely to be a tense weekend as thousands flock to D.C. for the inauguration and thousands more arrive to protest it.

The protest outside Thursday night’s "DeploraBall," held at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, is expected to be one of many marking Trump’s inaugural festivities. Demonstrators Thursday night set fire to a Trump hat, NBC News reported, and brought with them an inflatable elephant with a “racism” banner on it. They also set off smoke devices from within the crowd.


Protesters outside the building chanted “Nazi scum” at DeploraBall attendees as they entered the building and a DeploraBall Twitter account posted videos of the group outside chanting “F--- Trump.” Along with the video, the DeploraBall account’s post read, “SHOUTING WONT CHANGE TOMORROWS OUTCOME... CANT WAIT TO SAY PRESIDENT @realDonaldTrump.”

The demonstrators also brought with them a projector, used to project two messages onto nearby buildings: "Impeach the predatory president" and "bragging about grabbing a woman's genitals."

Washington’s NBC affiliate reported that there were no arrests related to the protests, but one man was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit an assault.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are set to protest Trump's inauguration this weekend. One group, DisruptJ20, expects its members to cause delays at checkpoints going into the inauguration, according to the Associated Press.