Thousands of Anti-Racist Protesters March Amid 'Free Speech' Rally in Boston

Tens of thousands of anti-racist activists in Boston began marching on Saturday toward a smaller group of 'Free Speech' protesters gathering in the heart of the US city, where police officers set up barricades and stepped up security measures in a bid to prevent violence.

BOSTON (Sputnik) — Several hundred people gathered downtown for a 'Free Speech' rally, where several white nationalists and conservatives were slated to deliver speeches.

The "Free Speech" rally on the Boston Common is expected to draw up to 1,000 people, while counter-rallies across the city could attract more than 20,000.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of counter-protesters gathered in the nearby neighborhood of Roxbury for a Fight Supremacy Rally before participants began marching toward Boston Common.

Hundreds of counter-demonstrators began shouting "Nazi scum" and "shame" as around a dozen Free Speech rally participants who arrived to Boston Common.

When hate groups threaten a city like #Boston or #Durham, we are seeing it backfire badly

You're building unity & community in these cities pic.twitter.com/Pk4dWyXgkD

— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) 19 августа 2017 г.

At least 500 uniformed and plainclothes police officers were on the streets, and law enforcement agencies erected concrete barriers and parked dump trucks to close off traffic and keep rival demonstrators separate.

Wow! Go Boston! #fightsupremacy #bostonresist #nonazi #nokkk #saturdaymorning #LoveTrumpsHate pic.twitter.com/naW7XShS7B

— Torch (@TorchResist) 19 августа 2017 г.

Protests in Boston

© Sputnik / Kristin Dailey

City officials also placed video cameras on the streets and tasked teams of police officers with filming protesters in a bid to discourage violence and bring any law-breakers to swift justice.

Marathon Bombing.
Nazis.
KKK.
Boston rises when confronted with the worst of humanity.pic.twitter.com/giF78yOGTP#FightSupremacy #BostonResist https://t.co/HFENQ3mg94

— Steve Marmel (@Marmel) 19 августа 2017 г.

US Police in Boston have formed a human barrier to separate rival protesters as tensions soared when Free Speech demonstrators arrived to the site of their rally, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Saturday.

Police officers searched the bags of anyone entering Boston Common, confiscating banned items including flag poles, metal cans and sharp objects.

Police officers moved quickly to place their bikes between the two groups. Later, thousands of people descended on a public park in the US city of Boston.

Tensions soared as counter-protesters numbers swelled, with several masked demonstrators appearing among the anti-racist activists.

Everyone that is going to the Boston Free speech protest today, Please stay safe, and keep your distance from the Nazis! #StaySafeBoston pic.twitter.com/rQjPAWwnrB

— SCROTUS (@_NotFakeNews_) 19 августа 2017 г.

The rival protests come just one week after deadly protests in the US town of Charlottesville, Virginia, where a white nationalist "Unite the Right" rally descended into violence.

Police in Boston are taking extra precautions to avoid a repeat of Charlottesville, where clashes erupted between protesters and counter-demonstrators. The violence culminated in the Virginia town when a Nazi supporter slammed his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and leaving 19 others injured.