(WWJ) Chaos broke out in downtown Detroit Saturday night where officers in riot gear arrested dozens of protesters.
42 people were taken into custody for a "variety of misdemeanor and felony offenses," according to Detroit police.
The protesters; gathered on Woodward at John R; pushed back against Operation Legend, President Donald Trump's plan to bring federal agents to Detroit and a number of other cities to fight a high volume of gun violence.
The rally was organized by activist group Detroit Will Breathe.
In a post on the group's Facebook page; they said the "federal agents" were sent to "criminalize and terrorize black and brown communities."
The group utilized musical instruments, song and dance during the rally; according to a video on the group's Facebook page.
WARNING: The following video may contain language some may find offensive.
Another video, that has since been removed from the Detroit Will Breathe, page showed the group eventually confronting a line of police officers in riot gear while chanting: "We don't see no riots here. Why are you in riot gear?"
ClickOnDetroit reports tear gas was used to disperse the crowd, after multiple warnings from police, around midnight.
Police say 18 of the protesters were from Detroit, and one was from California. No word on where the others were from.
A press release by The Department of Justice describes Operation Legend as: "a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime."
It is named after LeGend Taliferro, a four-year-old boy shot and killed while sleeping in his home early this summer in Kansas City, Missouri; the city where Operation Legend began. It has since been expanded to at least eight additional cities: Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Memphis, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Detroit.
Related: Parents Killed In Hail Of Gunfire In Detroit, Leaving Three Injured Boys Behind
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said last month violent crime in the city is up at least 7% over last year, as of late July.
