Tense scuffle marks otherwise peaceful protests at RNC

CLEVELAND - In Public Square, where speakers have come and gone peaceably for the last two days, one of the far right's most prominent voices and two men calling him "Nazi scum" scuffled briefly in one of the most tense encounters the city has seen during the Republican National Convention.

A quiet morning gave way to a raucous afternoon, where hundreds of reporters, police officers, and protesters filled the historic square amid loud demonstrations and counterdemonstrations. In the evening, a protest led by the hacker collective Anonymous worked its way through the streets and dispersed peacefully near Lake Erie.

Though tensions between police and protesters rose several times, with officers pushing demonstrators back with their bikes and maneuvering them onto sidewalks, the violent clashes many had feared did not materialize.

A few demonstrators roamed downtown and the square in the afternoon. Cameras clustered around the most controversial signs ("Want to Talk to a Racist?" read one) and men openly carrying military-style rifles. (One man, wearing a Muslim skullcap, said he believed gun-rights advocates do not want to extend such rights to minorities and wanted to make that point.)

That's when Alex Jones arrived. The radio host, 9/11 "truther," and conspiracy theorist, whose words were cheered at a pro-Trump rally Monday, was swiftly surrounded by news crews. Shouting through a megaphone, he led some in the crowd in a chant of "Hillary for Prison," a message his Infowars website has put on rented trucks to drive around Cleveland this week - as counterprotesters drew close.

Jones pushed through the media crush toward steps on the north side of the square, reporters backing out of his way. Two men waving red flags descended the stairs, shouting, "Off our streets, Nazi scum!" Pushing and shoving ensued. This reporter was briefly knocked to the ground but not injured. Jones yelled that the men were attacking him.

Police Chief Calvin Williams, who had been shaking hands in the square for much of the afternoon, was on the steps as the fray ensued. Bike officers moved in to defuse the situation within seconds, pushing media and onlookers back as Jones whisked through the crowd, a trail of cameras and protesters running after him.

He boarded an SUV and sped off. Police cordoned off the square with bikes as a group of anti-Islam street preachers took the eastern steps and began to shout through bullhorns. For a few moments, the square was tense, full of protesters yelling back at the preachers, cameras surrounding the more vocal among them, and hundreds of officers ringing the area.

Officers eventually moved everyone out of the square, a Cleveland police source said, because so many groups had converged there and police feared people would have difficulty moving.

In the background, on a small stage, Westboro Baptist Church members, known for homophobic beliefs and near-constant street protests, held signs in the faces of dozens of counterprotesters. The church's members blasted a song warning attendees that they were going to Hell, to the tune of the Disney hit "Let It Go."

A small group of men and women who later said they were members of Anonymous set off from the square afterward, dozens of police following. The protesters said that they were against both presidential candidates but that the election was a gift that had revealed ugly truths about the country.

Police pushed bikes into the crowd at one intersection, causing a brief scuffle, and eventually cordoned off an intersection near the lake. Williams, on hand for much of the day, escorted two younger protesters from the area.

Then officers warned anyone remaining - about 40 people - that they had five minutes to leave or face arrest.

"Apparently Cleveland is a police state," said a protester who would not give his name. He said the group just wanted to "find the next open bar." Then they set off down the sidewalk.

awhelan@phillynews.com

@aubreyjwhelan 215-854-2961