A protest in Charlotte, North Carolina, turned violent Monday night and ended with at least seven people being arrested and two people sent to the hospital, according to a police report.
The Hill reports that demonstrators started gathering Monday afternoon at Marshall Park to support "Resist RNC 2020."
The meet-up turned into a group of more than 100 people marching from the park at about 9 p.m. The protest was peaceful until police tried to break up a crowd surrounding a burning object. According to The Charlotte Observer, the burning object appeared to be an American flag.
Law enforcement officers used pepper spray and made several arrests, according to The Associated Press.
"Officers deployed pepper spray on a protestor who was choking a woman and assaulted an officer," the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department tweeted Monday. "The protestor was arrested and charged with assault."
The department also tweeted about demonstrators pushing a "bicycle officer off his bike while he attempted to extinguish a fire lit by demonstrators."
The AP reported that a video was posted on Twitter showing police using bikes to knock down protesters, with one woman getting her legs run over.
Protests against the Republican National Convention have been taking place since Friday, according to The Hill.
People have been calling for racial justice and police reform. They have been showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, calling for defunding the police and ending systemic racism at the protests.
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