OLYMPIA, Wash. — There were concerns about clashes between different groups of protesters in Olympia, Saturday, but the gatherings were peaceful.
A crowd gathered at noon on the state capitol campus to protest vaccine and mask mandates.
Washington State Patrol estimated the crowd size at about 300.
The demonstration was peaceful and there were no arrests, WSP said.
Proud Boys converged outside Olympia City Hall around 2 pm with several people making speeches.
The protest was in response to a shooting on Sept. 4th at the Intercity Transit Center, where Proud Boys clashed with a group of Antifa.
An Antifa member allegedly fired several shots during the Sept. 4th brawl, hitting a Proud Boy in his foot.
The Olympia Police Dept. said it continues to investigate the shooting and other violence from Sept. 4th.
OPD was criticized for not doing more to stop the violence two weeks ago.
“None of us want this type of behavior in our community. We are taking the lessons learned from that weekend to inform our practices and processes for this weekend in an effort to ensure an effective strategy to address any safety issues,” the city said in a statement, Friday.