A right-wing group and self-described anti-fascist counter-protesters rallied in Portland, Oregon, Saturday as police tried to prevent the gatherings from turning violent as they have before.
The rally organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson was the third to roil Portland this summer.
Two previous events ended in bloody fistfights and riots, and one counter-protester was sent to the hospital with a skull fracture.
This time, Gibson changed the venue from a federal plaza outside US District Court to a waterfront park so some of his Oregon supporters could carry concealed weapons as they demonstrate.
Protesters saw a significant police presence that included bomb-sniffing dogs and weapons screening checkpoints.
In a statement, police said weapons may be seized if there is a violation of law and added that it is illegal in Portland to carry a loaded firearm in public unless a person has a valid Oregon concealed handgun license.
Many protesters are expected to be from out of state.
Gibson's insistence on bringing his supporters repeatedly to this blue city has crystallized a debate about the limits of free speech in an era of stark political division.
Patriot Prayer also has held rallies in many other cities around the US West, including Berkeley, California, that have drawn violent reactions.
But the Portland events have taken on outsized significance after a Patriot Prayer sympathizer was charged with fatally stabbing two men who came to the defense of two young black women - one in a hijab - whom the attacker was accused of harassing on a light-rail train in May 2017.
A coalition of community organizations and a group representing more than 50 tribes warned of the potential for even greater violence than previous rallies if participants carry guns.
It called on officials to denounce what it called "the racist and sexist violence of Patriot Prayer and Proud Boys" and protect the city.
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