(WWJ/AP) Multiple people were arrested over the weekend when members of the far-right Proud Boys group and counter-protesters clashed violently in western Michigan.
Assistant Chief Vernon Coakley of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said "a few" people were arrested Saturday, but didn't immediately know exactly how many.
Coakley said the department handled the situation properly, telling reporters that protesters' First Amendment rights were respected, and police only stepped when things took a violent turn.
"Law enforcement was not seen or present until a fight occurred. People were fighting, and we did move in to establish peace," Coakley said. "That's when we moved in."
Counter-protesters staged their own event in the area at the same time as the rally that the Proud Boys had planned, according to local media reports. When the Proud Boys arrived, the confrontation ensued. Some fist fights occurred before police arrived and ordered the crowds to disperse.
The Proud Boys also used pepper spray on people, according to reports.
The male-only Proud Boys has been called extremist by the Anti-Defamation League and described as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Proud Boys dispute those descriptions.
"The Proud Boys, they not only have hatred for Jewish people and Muslim people, but they're also very hateful of anybody who doesn't look like them or act like them," said the Rev. Nathan Dannison, pastor of the First Congregational Church, which hosted a vigil by counter-protesters.
Among those arrested was an MLive.com reporter, although it's not completely clear why.
WOOD-TV reports the reporter was shooting video for MLive of the incident when he was taken into custody. WOOD reports the man has since been released from the county jail.
Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas later apologized to the reporter at press conference, saying police believed at the time he was "interfering and obstructing with their operations to restore the order," Thomas said.
Officials said a charge of impeding traffic against the reporter was dropped.
