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Antifa demonstrators hurled smoke and projectiles at police officers during rallies in downtown Portland on Sunday, injuring at least two.
The Rally and March Against White Nationalism, which was organized by the Portland Stands United Against Hate group, started off at a park on the waterfront with speakers leading demonstrators in song and prayers, Fox 12 reported.
After police changed the planned route of the march to avoid violence, tensions built up between the demonstrators and an opposing group, Patriot Prayer, also scheduled to hold a rally.
Police said demonstrators threw projectiles and smoke bomb — and knocked down a fence that police had put up. They also said seven suspects were in custody.
Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson originally planned to hold a larger rally in Portland but it was moved to nearby Vancouver, Wash., to try and keep it safe and family-friendly, according to Fox 12.
Patriot Prayer bills itself as a peaceful First Amendment advocacy group that appears in locations where there have been past confrontations over free speech.
