A flag-burning protest turned chaotic outside Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday afternoon as at least five people were arrested and two officers suffered minor injuries.
Large crowds of journalists and delegates swarmed a small group chanting anti-police slogans and twice attempted to burn a flag near East 4th and Prospect near the arena where the Republican National Convention is taking place this week.
Police pushed into the center of the crowd and began moving the core protesters, who continued screaming and chanting while they were handcuffed, searched and detained.
Chaotic scene in downtown #Cleveland #RNCinCLE #gopconvention pic.twitter.com/fnMyVWuSbp
— Trevor Hughes (@TrevorHughes) July 20, 2016
Cleveland Police said two officers were assaulted and suffered minor injuries. Protesters refused dispersal orders and pushed police officers before firefighters extinguished and took the flag that protesters attempted to destroy.
Officers also used their bicycles and a group of horse-mounted troopers to clear the street and pushed the crowd away from the main entrance of the arena.
The scene was further compounded by delegates and other Republicans who began singing "America the Beautiful" and waving American flags as the howling protesters were detained.
The protest appeared to have wound down by 5 p.m., but many journalists and observers from Amnesty International remained on scene. Other members of the protest who were not detained yelling at their compatriots as they were loaded into vans for removal.
A police officer maintains control of a detained protester. #RNCinCLE #gopconvention pic.twitter.com/ECDOBrlQtN
— Trevor Hughes (@TrevorHughes) July 20, 2016
