Police Make Arrests as Tensions Flare Outside RNC — Officers in Riot Gear Head to Scene

A hostile conglomerate of protest groups took to the streets of Cleveland Wednesday, delaying traffic for lawmakers and media trying to get to and from events at the Republican National Convention.

The groups included Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters, Black Lives Matter members, Code Pink feminists and self-described communists.

Some protesters were arrested Wednesday afternoon, according to police.

TheBlaze's Mike Opelka and Leigh Munsil were on the scene as Secret Service agents and police officers on bicycles patrolled the packed perimeter of the Quicken Loans Arena. One Secret Service officer told TheBlaze that they use the bicycles to break up protests and to block access with fewer officers.

At around noon Wednesday, Opelka captured footage of the protests as he made his way to one of the primary entrances on 4th and Euclid. As he approached the entrance, a communist-leaning group called "America Was Never Great" gathered in the street and unfolded a handmade "wall."

One protester wearing a shirt that read "Iraq Veterans Against the War" told Opelka that he wasn't allowed into the convention.

“Are you with the convention?” Opelka asked.

When the man said "no," Opelka told him, “You can’t stop the press," and proceeded to make his way past the shouting group until finally he reached police officers stationed outside the RNC grounds.

Later in the day, two Cleveland police officers were assaulted and sustained minor injuries after a flag-burning demonstration outside the convention.

Eventually, police ordered all people, including members of the media, to clear the area.

According to the Free Beacon's Jack Heretik, the riot gear police have been replaced with bike police.