EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Thirteen people are facing felony charges after protests turned violent in East Lansing Monday. People arriving to see white nationalist Richard Spencer clashed with protesters outside.
Michigan State University police tell FOX 17 this wasn’t what they hoped for, but it is what they’re trained for: handling some 500 protesters who gathered at the agricultural pavilion where Spencer was speaking. A few officers were injured in the process.
Twenty-five people were arrested during clashes, with 13 facing felony charges.
“We are proceeding with felonies which will be in the range of CCW, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting or obstructing a police officer,” says MSU Police Captain Doug Monette. "Some of the things, there was talk about brass knuckles being at the scene, there was talk about people throwing rocks and various other items that the officers had to face."
Those arrests include Hannah Baker of Chicago, caught with brass knuckles, Dan Smiegel, also from Illinois, charged with resisting police, and Aaron Brown of Mason, another resisting and obstruction charge.
Capt. Monette says there were even reports of feces being thrown and urine being put in balloons. But, he says officers were trained and ready. “One of the things that happens is that people quite often repeat themselves when they do something. So we prepared our officers as well as all the other agencies that were part of this,” says Monette.
Police faced intense opposition from protesters, who accused police of protecting the white nationalists. But, Capt. Monette says officers simply had a job to do.
"We’re here to protect the community, and we encourage the opportunity for people to exchange ideas, and some of those ideas are different than what people are used to."
Four officers left the scene with minor injuries, but Monette says officers can learn from this and be even better prepared in the future.
"We had a job to do, and we did it. Campus safety was a priority, and we were all on the same page,” says Monette. "The agencies that were here, we all trained together. There’s a lesson learned in everything, and whether things go how they go, there’s always something you can take away from it."
MSU only allowed Spencer to speak as part of a settlement, hoping that scheduling the event during spring break would limit the potential for students to end up in harm’s way.
