Protesters Tangle in Cleveland Outside Republican Convention

— -- Protesters from different political and ideological backgrounds clashed early on the second day of the Republican National Convention, as Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, and Christian activists butted heads with each other as well as Donald Trump supporters on the streets of Cleveland.

Tensions have started to run high in Cleveland, after what appeared to be a quiet start to the convention. Many analysts speculated that RNC would prove to be a lightning rod for protesters, given the passionate reactions generated by the party's presumptive nominee, but that had not proved to be the case until now.

A mostly white crowd yelled for Black Lives Matter protesters to "get a job" when they arrived in the area outside of the convention today, and some mocked them, asking how many people had been killed on the streets of Chicago last week.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who frequently spark of controversy at events such as these, descended in the same space to protest homosexuality. They sang songs together.

Protesters Gather at Republican National Convention

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Protesters get into a shouting match with counter-protesters during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 21, 2016.

Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Polaris

Police in riot gear were first spotted in Cleveland this afternoon. Other officers with bicycles created walls with their bodies in order to keep protesters apart.

There were several face-to-face encounters with police, including an incident where protesters chanted anti-police slogans while cops raised their bikes as shields to keep them back.

The protests by all accounts remained peaceful, but the crowd outside of the Quicken Loans convention center has begun to grow in recent hours, multiplying from dozens to hundreds. No arrests have been made today, according to police.

Public Square, a central plaza close to the arena, was closed briefly to separate two different groups of protesters and keep them from fighting, according to police.

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