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Tensions High During Pre-Election Demonstrations In Northampton

Updated Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. 

Dozens of supporters of President Trump clashed with a larger group of counterprotesters holding Black Lives Matter signs Sunday in downtown Northampton, Massachusetts.

Michele from Springfield, who declined to give her last name, said she came out to support the president's reelection.

"I'm not against Black lives," she said. "I think there's a lot of commonality on both sides if everyone would stop yelling long enough to talk. But I believe in what [Trump has] done. He's kept his promises, and I'd like to see another four years of promises kept."

She said she was was knocked to the ground in an altercation with counterprotesters and got some pepper spray in her face.

Counterprotesters said Northampton police deployed the pepper spray and were focused on protecting aggressive Trump supporters.

In a social media post Monday afternoon, Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper said officers deployed three bursts of pepper spray to disburse crowds on Sunday as confrontations among demonstrators became physical.

Kasper said officers intervened after seeing one male demonstrator on the ground being punched by two other men. The man on the ground, she said, reported "a left elbow injury, scrapes to his arm, and discomfort from being pepper sprayed." He was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

At one point, she said, demonstrators "got on top of" an officer who was trying to escort one demonstrator "away from the disturbance."

Kasper did not identify whether the individuals were Trump supporters or counterprotesters. She said no arrests were made.

"While working these events, our goal is to provide security and traffic control for individuals as they engage in their right to free speech," Kasper said. "In these times of escalated political and social tension, this task can be challenging."

Toward the end, a Trump supporter with a bullhorn announced that "patriots" should "go home."

"Watch each other's backs," he said. "Walk each other to your cars. Check for violence against your cars. Watch each other's backs. Go home. The police gotta do stuff here."

Counterprotesters chanted, "No cops, no KKK, no racist USA," and "Go home, fascists!"

"We were really happy to see that the people of Northampton showed them that there’s no place for fascists in our city," said Kiyoshi Koh, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Liz Walber, also a member of the party, said the protests were about more than the election.

"This is something much bigger," Walber said. "This is about how America is falling and we're witnessing the crumbling of an empire. And we want to be safe, and we want indigenous and Black people and queer people to be safe in what comes in the next couple of years."

Earlier in the day, a caravan of Trump supporters drove around Northampton and nearby communities.

Ben James, Sam Hudzik and Nancy Cohen contributed.

Correction: An earlier version of this report misspelled Liz Walber's name, and misattributed Kiyoshi Koh's quote to Celina della Croce.

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