Police did not identify any of those arrested Wednesday.
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Police ordered bystanders, including the sizable number of reporters and TV cameras, to disperse, threatening to arrest anybody who ignored the order.
Among those arrested was Gregory “Joey” Johnson, whose torching of a flag at a GOP convention three decades ago led to the landmark 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said flag-burning is protected by the First Amendment.
A protester tried to set an American flag on fire, and in the process caught his pant leg on fire.
Cleveland police say no one has been arrested after an afternoon of large protests in and around downtown.
Williams said an individual whose trousers were on fire got defensive when an officer tried to extinguish the blaze and assaulted the officer.
He says those in custody will be formally booked at a city booking center.
The group had announced the flag-burning ceremony earlier this week, drawing a crush of media and counter-protesters determined to stop the desecration.
The scene settled down quickly, and after order was restored the protesters outside the Republican National Convention were being kept apart.
Within 30 minutes, the protest had largely dissipated and the gates were reopened to the convention’s secure area.
At least some of those arrested after the fight were wearing revolutionary communist t-shirts.
Firefighters extinguished the flag and took it away.
After the trouble, a number of officers from a variety of states stayed in the intersection to help delegates get into the arena.
Police officers used bicycles and their bodies to separate those with opposing views.
Hundreds of demonstrators for and against Donald Trump gathered in Cleveland’s Public Square late Thursday but slowly – and peacefully – scattered ahead of Trump’s prime-time acceptance speech on the last night of the Republican convention.
He said most of the arrests were made in the aftermath and were not because of the flag-burning.
Police yelled to people to move back as the flag burning group locked arms.
You can’t go 5 feet in downtown Cleveland without overhearing an argument about Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton, gun rights versus gun control, or whether blue or black lives matter more. Some played ping pong with visitors to the square while others kicked a soccer ball around with children.
Warm temperatures in the low 80s may be playing a role in keeping people away. She says the group will hold another protest Thursday. On Tuesday, skirmishes broke out among demonstrators.
Two officers were assaulted and suffered minor injuries, police said. A short time later, Williams confronted a group of what he called “hooligans” who marched onto the square dressed as anarchists and gave them an “ultimatum” to get off the streets.
Williams said he plans to show up wherever there are “issues” during the convention.
City officials have been hoping for a mostly trouble-free convention to help fix the reputation of the Cleveland police, who are operating under federal supervision after a U.S. Justice Department investigation found a pattern of excessive force and violations of people’s civil rights. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
The day’s demonstrations started with a few dozen people holding banners printed with a red-brick design and forming a human wall to mock Donald Trump’s plan to seal off the Mexican border.
Anti-government and anti-racism protesters are set to burn an American flag Wednesday at an undisclosed location.
Dozens of people chanted “Love Trumps Hate” and carried signs that said “Ban All Trumps Not Muslims”.
Some of the protesters appeared to be marching toward the arena where the convention is being held, while others split off in different directions.
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An anti-Donald Trump march is underway in Cleveland on the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention.
