A large crowd protesting Richard Spencer’s speech gathered in the parking lot north of the MSU Pavilion Monday.
Many were holding signs that said things like “goodnight white supremacy” and “Alt- Right = Neo Nazi.” People traveled from places like Grand Rapids and Detroit to join the protest. Protestor Deborah Dean lives in Brighton.
“If this doesn’t stop, where doesit stop? Where do you get them to back down, because Richard Spencer is not just against black people, that’s bad enough, but he’s against the immigrants he’s against women who vote, he’s against gays, anybody. And the only people he’s approving is white people.”
The protesters weren’t just angry with Spencer supporters, but with law enforcement, who were escorting people through the crowd who wanted to attend Spencer’s talk. Protestors grouped police in with white supremacists, chanting “cops and the klan go hand in hand.”
Clashes between protesters and small groups of Spencer supporters resulted in several fights. By about 6 pm when the crowds began to disperse, two dozen people had been arrested.