FORT COLLINS – Police are still investigating a brawl that broke out during a pro-police rally in northern Colorado over the weekend and expect to make more arrests.
While counterdemonstrators saw some of the pro-police rally-goers as the instigators in Saturday’s melee, Fort Collins police chief Jeff Swoboda on Monday stood by his statement that there were aggressors on both sides, the Coloradoan reported. He said several people on each side were armed with weapons, including sidearms, brass knuckles, pepper spray and fireworks.
“You’ll see, when arrest information comes out, (that) this was a destination for people looking to get into a fight for some,” he said, noting that most of the people involved in the fight were not from the city, home to Colorado State University.
Video footage showed members of the pro-law enforcement crowd walking toward counterprotesters who are backing away.
Swoboda criticized those claiming to support police for participating in the fighting.
“Simply throwing on an ‘I support the police’ T-shirt, but then acting like a person with no regard for the law or safety of other people – that is not support, we do not want your support and we do not need your support,” he said.
