- The Freedom and Justice Party's headquarters building is set ablaze
- The unrest comes a day after Egypt's president announced a controversial order
- The order essentially allows him to run the country unchecked until a constitution is drafted
- Protesters are rallying against Morsy and his movement's growing influence
Cairo (CNN) -- Protesters stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing in Alexandria on Friday, state TV reported, a day after Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy issued orders that essentially allow him to run the country unchecked until a new constitution is drafted.
The Freedom and Justice Party's building was set afire during the protest, Nile TV reported. Demonstrators also rallied Friday in Cairo against Morsy and the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Morsy's spokesman announced Thursday that the president had issued an order preventing any court from overturning his decisions. Morsy also ordered retrials and reinvestigations in the deaths of protesters during last year's uprising against strongman Hosni Mubarak. That could lead to the reprosecution of Mubarak, currently serving a life prison term, and several acquitted officials who served under him.
Egypt's role in Israel-Gaza conflict The order for retrials could please some Egyptians who've expressed disappointment that security officers and others have escaped legal consequences over last year's protester crackdown by the Mubarak regime.
Read more: Egypt's Morsy: 'Imperial' president or step forward for revolution?
But protesters Thursday expressed anger over Morsy's assumption of more power. About 2,000 people protested Thursday night in and around Tahrir Square, with some chanting "birth of a new pharaoh" and "Morsy the dictator."
Political rivals also expressed dismay Thursday evening.
"Morsy is taking over the executive, judicial, and legislative powers in his hands, and this is a dangerous path," said the Twitter account of Hamdeen Sabahy, a former presidential candidate.
"Morsy has issued immunity to any laws he issues. This is the birth of a new dictator," tweeted Khaled Ali, another former presidential candidate.
Read more: Protest turns violent in Cairo
Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters, meanwhile, stood outside the general prosecutor's office Thursday to support Morsy's decrees.
Morsy declared that any laws or decrees he's made since he took office June 30, and any made before a new constitution is put in place, are final and cannot be overturned or appealed, his spokesman said on state-run TV.
Morsy also declared that a 100-man council drafting a new constitution, plus the upper house of parliament, cannot be dissolved. And he granted the council two more months to finish a draft constitution, meaning the panel has six months to finish.
Read more: Egypt and Morsy proved 'pivotal' in Gaza cease-fire talks
Learning about Egypt's Morsy That means Morsy, who earlier this year took over legislative powers from the military council that ruled after Mubarak's ouster, could have at least six months of unchecked rule by decree. The draft constitution would go to a referendum before it is finalized.
He also fired Egypt's general prosecutor, who had taken criticism from protesters in recent months because they believe prosecutions over demonstrators' deaths were insufficient. Morsy swore in Talaat Ibrahim as the new general prosecutor on Thursday.
Morsy's moves come three days after the start of violent protests in central Cairo, largely by people angry at Morsy's government and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement to which Morsy belongs. There also is turmoil in the constitution panel, which has been torn between conservatives wanting the constitution to mandate Egypt be governed by Islam's Sharia law, and moderates and liberals who want it to say that Egypt be governed by principles of Sharia.
The announcements also come a day after Morsy helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after an eight-day conflict between the sides.
Thousands of people have protested in Cairo since Monday, chanting -- for the first time since Morsy took office -- for the toppling of the regime. Some in Tahrir Square held posters saying "No to the Brotherhood," and banned Brotherhood members from entering the square.
One person has died and at least 80 have been injured in the protests, according to Mohamed Sultan, a Health Ministry spokesman.
Dozens of protesters have been arrested, said Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal El Din. Cameras have been installed around Tahrir Square, its side streets and the Interior Ministry in an effort to determine the identities of people attacking security forces, he announced.
Eric Trager, a fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Morsy not only is preventing the judiciary from overruling his decisions, but he also has "insulated the Muslim-Brotherhood-dominated (constitutional panel) from judicial oversight."
Despite the protests in Cairo and objections from political rivals, Morsy -- elected with nearly 52% of the vote in a June runoff against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik -- enjoys the "best mobilizing capability in the country" in the Muslim Brotherhood, Trager said.
"If there's a nationwide movement against this, you'll (also) have a nationwide movement for it," Trager said.
After he was elected, Morsy took legislative control from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which had ruled after Mubarak was deposed. Earlier, the council dissolved parliament's lower house, saying parliamentary elections that began in November 2011 were unconstitutional. Morsy indicated in June he would call back parliament, but Egypt's high administrative court upheld the dissolution.
Mubarak and his former interior minister, Habib El Adly, were convicted and sentenced in June to life in prison on charges relating to the deaths of hundreds of protesters after a 10-month trial, while six former government aides were acquitted. Some Egyptians protested the sentences and acquittals.
Morsy, who still was running for office, said at the time that he would initiate new investigations if elected.
About 840 people died and more than 6,000 others were injured in last year's 18-day uprising, according to Amnesty International.
CNN's Jason Hanna and Mitra Mobasherat and journalists Ian Lee and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.
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