Anti-Sharia Law Rallies Draw In Counterprotests and Arrests
An anti-Muslim activist group clashed with counterdemonstrators in Seattle, Washington and St. Paul, Minnesota, as well as dozens of other cities where it organized protests on Saturday. Riot police used arrests and pepper spray to quell violence and break up the competing groups.
ACT for America, a group of anti-Sharia law activists, organized the nationwide protests to speak out about what they believe are the ills of Islam. "Sharia is incompatible with Western democracy and the freedoms it affords," the organization, which claims to be the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America, declared on its website.
But the "March Against Sharia" was met by counterdemonstrations that accused ACT of America of racism. The pro-Muslim activists yelled and sounded horns to drown out the anti-Sharia speeches that centered on "honor violence." In most cases, police had to step in to prevent confrontation.
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In Seattle, police had to disperse crowds at City Hall Plaza 10:00 a.m. when a small group of anti-Sharia activists was met by a much larger group of counter protestors. But demonstrators from both sides regrouped in Occidental Park where clashes occurred after 12:30 p.m. The commotion resulted in the arrest of one woman and two men for obstructing.
Elsewhere, angry protesters taunted each other that resulted in brawls. Police arrested half a dozen people in St. Paul, Minnesota and two in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There was no violence in New York where 500 gathered in Foley Square, but four people were arrested for loitering.
In Chicago, about 30 people gathered at the northwest corner of Wacker Drive and Wabash Ave., shouting slogans in support of President Donald Trump. They also held signs that read "Ban Sharia" and "Sharia abuses women," but they were outnumbered by counter-protests that were nearly twice as large.
The organizer of the Seattle rally, Anthony Parish of Kent, clarified that what they held wasn't an anti-Muslim activity, but rather a march against practices like the mutilation of young girls and honor killing which the group attributed to Sharia law. Other places where protests occurred are Boston, Dallas and Atlanta.
