Police arrest 17 at Republican convention
July 21, 2016
Two of the arrested were charged with felonious assault on an officer. This after officers tried to confiscate a US flag that some of the protesters were trying to set alight, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said, adding that some of the protesters' pants had caught fire during the incident.
"Whatever they tried to do with the flag, as we were trying to extinguish it and they were trying to keep it away, their pants leg caught on fire," said Williams.
The other 15 were charged with a misdemeanor offense of inciting violence near the Quicken Loans Arena.
There have only been 22 arrests over the three days of the convention, after fears the nomination of Trump to run as the Republican candidate in this year's presidential election could lead to significant civil unrest in Cleveland.
A group that called itself the Revolution Club, for example, had said before the event that it intended to burn the flag to protest US military intervention overseas.
"So far, so good," Williams said, "We're still out there. We're still vigilant."
Burning the American flag is protected by the First Amendment of the US constitution, which protects the right to free speech.
The four-day convention ends on Thursday.
jbh/gsw (Reuters, AFP)