A law enforcement officer tries extinguish a burning American flag, Wednesday, July 20, 2016, in Cleveland, during the third day of the Republican convention.
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Police Chief Calvin Williams said during an evening news conference that 18 people were arrested near the corner of East 4 Street and Prospect Avenue – two on felony charges, including assaulting a police officer.
An anti-Donald Trump march is underway in Cleveland on the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention.
Demonstrators make their way over the Lorain-Carnegie bridge into downtown during a protest, Thursday, July 21, 2016, in Cleveland, during the final day of the Republican convention.
His arraignment was held up Thursday because of what was described as a paperwork delay, but he was released later in the evening.
Shouting matches and scuffles among the groups – who included anarchists, anti-Muslim protesters and Bikers for Trump – came to a halt once they were outnumbered by hundreds of police officers who streamed into the sun-soaked square in the biggest show of force during the four-day convention.
City officials and police who braced for mass disruptions and violence during this summer of bloodshed struck a confident note as the convention wrapped up Thursday.
“We didn’t know what to expect hearing everything on the news”, he said. Again, we don’t discuss security or tactics, but as the chief has stated over and over again, we’re trained and ready.
There were tense moments as protesters filled the downtown Public Square, but most people seemed to get along.
More than 100 police officers swarmed in, pushing back not only the protesters but many members of the media that rushed over.
A flag-burning in the streets outside the convention on Wednesday sparked the most turbulent protest of the week and resulted in 17 arrests.
Tuesday’s arrests bring the total number of convention-related arrests since Sunday to 22 people, according to police.
One of the last confrontations involved a man arguing with police late Thursday after they confiscated his papier-mache pig adorned with a Donald Trump wig after he tied it to a light pole.
“At a protest today, exit routes from protests were blocked by police or appeared impassable for people with disabilities, and dispersal orders were not clearly audible to all protesters”, Amnesty International USA’s Eric Ferrero said late Wednesday.
Police officers and Clevelanders alike said they were pleased that – for the most part – protests remained non-violent. Police quickly moved in and arrested her. Officers at the scene said she was charged with disorderly conduct for desecration of a flag.
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.
The peace may be due to smaller than expected numbers of protesters and greater than expected numbers of law enforcement. The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and fellow “patriots” became entangled with left-wing protesters in Public Square.
Cleveland police were “outstanding” in protecting the America First Unity Rally on Monday and preventing anti-Trump protesters from crashing the event, said organizer Tim Selaty Sr.
An anti-Trump rally never really materialized, drawing just a few dozen people.
Glenn Wilcoxson, of Clearwater, Florida, spent the week selling Trump shirts, hats and stickers in Cleveland.
“It was going to be massive riots and problems, but we got here and there have been very little problems”, he said. “The police have done such a wonderful job, unbelievable”. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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