Natalie Neysa Alund, Jake Lowary, and Ariana Maia Sawyer

The Tennessean

Protests, silent and loud, took place Friday across Nashville as President Donald Trump spoke for the first time to the world as the nation's 45th president.

At Centennial Park hundreds protested the new president, but also called on him to change a culture that has existed for years before him. At the state Capitol, protesters formed a human chain to block access to the building's southern entrance. And in the evening, a march that started at Cumberland Park wound its way through the streets of downtown Nashville.

"It's a day of mourning," said Jamie Morgan, 39, of Nashville, who attended a "Silent Inauguration" event at the park with about 500 other people. "I have a daughter who is a lesbian so this is an emotional thing."

Prior to a moment of silence during the exact moment Trump was sworn in as president, the crowd at the park sang patriotic songs including "God Bless America."

At the same time behind them, two men holding anti-abortion signs, took turns yelling at the crowd over a loudspeaker. Several people also drove by the crowd in cars screaming, "Make America great again."

Shortly after Trump was sworn in as the 45th president, the #615resist began trending on Twitter in Nashville and a half dozen protesters locked themselves together in front of the Tennessee state Capitol building.

In what's known as the "sleeping dragon maneuver," protesters' hands were cuffed together inside PVC pipes wrapped in duct-tape and chicken wire, making it especially difficult to pull them apart. The dragon sleeve was then chained to the Capitol door.

While about 100 other protesters nearby chanted "We shall not, we shall not be moved," Alexandra Axel was preparing to be arrested.

"They said it was a fire hazard," Axel said, her arms fixed in place across the large wooden doors. "There are so many other exits. I think it's just to enforce their power."

Axel said she wants to live in a country that treats people of color, Muslims and members of the LGBTQ community with dignity and respect.

Moments later, a column of Tennessee Highway Patrolmen marched to the doors and began hauling protesters down the Capitol steps.

Nashville Fire Department firefighters used bolt cutters and saws to dismantle the sleeves linking the demonstrators together.

Troopers arrested 9 people for obstruction of a passageway and one for disorderly conduct.

A few hours later, about 200 people marched across the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge and into downtown Nashville. On Broadway, they were met with both cheers of approval and shouts from Trump supporters in honky-tonks.

One group of people attempted to spray demonstrators with ketchup.

The march ended in front of City Hall, but a sizable group went on to Hill Detention Center to await the release of those who'd been arrested earlier at the Capitol.

Alejandro Guizar, who attended the Capitol protest, said he's experienced injustice under both the Bush and Obama administrations.

"If it would have been Hillary (Clinton) or Bernie (Sanders) or Ted Cruz or whoever it would have been, the systems are still in place to keep our people down — brown people, immigrants," Guizar said.

During his inaugural address, Trump promised a new era in American politics where power will be given back to the people, saying that it's about the whole of America from now on. Guizar was not yet buying that pledge.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Guizar said. "Even with (Obama) I said I'll believe it when I see it."

He was joined by Diana Lopez, who chuckled when asked what she wanted to see from the Trump administration.

"Speak to the people and not encourage this wave of racism," Lopez said. She said that while racism has been an issue for a long time, it became much more evident throughout Trump's racially and ethnically divisive campaign.

"I'd like to see a change in immigration law and support for my immigrant brothers and sisters," Lopez said. "Just to go to work."

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072 and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund. Reach Ariana Sawyer at asawyer@tennessean.com, 615-259-8382 or on Twitter @a_maia_sawyer.