Protesters Tangle in Cleveland Outside Republican Convention

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images(CLEVELAND) — Protesters from different political and ideological backgrounds clashed early on the second day of the Republican National Convention, as Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, and Christian activists butted heads with each other as well as Donald Trump supporters on the streets of Cleveland.

Tensions have started to run high in Cleveland, after what appeared to be a quiet start to the convention. Many analysts speculated that RNC would prove to be a lightning rod for protesters, given the passionate reactions generated by the party’s presumptive nominee, but that had not proved to be the case until now.

 

 

A mostly white crowd yelled for Black Lives Matter protesters to “get a job” when they arrived in the area outside of the convention Tuesday, and some mocked them, asking how many people had been killed on the streets of Chicago last week.

 

 

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who frequently spark of controversy at events such as these, descended in the same space to protest homosexuality. They sang songs together.

Police in riot gear were first spotted in Cleveland this afternoon. Other officers with bicycles, created walls with their bodies in order to keep protesters apart.

 

 

The protests by all accounts remained peaceful, but the crowd outside of the Quicken Loans convention center has begun to grow in recent hours, multiplying from dozens to hundreds. No arrests have been made, according to police.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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