More than 500 people were loud but non-violent as they gathered at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix for demonstrations Friday.
The organizers of the anti-Islam rally called it a “freedom of speech” protest, but many people brought weapons. An equal number of people staged a counter-protest in support of the mosque.
Organizer Jon Ritzheimer, a former Marine, said he was motivated to call for the rally and a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest after the recent shootings in Garland, Texas. The two men who fired shots at the Texas event had previously attended this Phoenix mosque.
As the two sides argued and yelled, dozens of police officers formed a line between them and kept them separated. There were no reports of injuries or arrests at the protest, which lasted a couple of hours and gained attention around the country on social media. Phoenix police estimated about 500 protesters showed up, roughly 250 on each side.
A man who identified himself only as Lee came to the protest dressed head-to-toe in camouflage and armed with 400 rounds of ammunition, a machine gun and a 9 millimeter handgun.
He said he understands not all Muslims are terrorists, but he wants to send a message to those who are.
“We know they are here, the government knows they are here and if they don’t want to do anything about it we will," Lee said. "We are here to let them know we are not an easy target and they won’t get away with it here.”
The protesters were opposed by an equal number of counter-protesters standing in solidarity with the members of the mosque.
Austin Flowers said he came out to promote peace. “I just believe that everyone has a right to practice their religion and this shouldn’t be going on,” he said.
The Phoenix Police Department, in cooperation with the other law enforcement agencies, separated the two groups.
“We had some of our tactical response teams in place to bring them in," Phoenix Sgt. Trent Crump said. "We have the barrier in the roadway to keep some physical fights from occurring out there, that seemed they were going to start.”
Crump would not confirm how many police were deployed, but said his department had also been working with the FBI.
The Muslim community had condemned the demonstration as bigoted and offensive.
Drawings of the Prophet Muhammad are deemed insulting to many followers of Islam and have sparked violence around the world.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
