Counterprotesters, decrying hate and white supremacy with signs and chants, showed up in massive numbers on Saturday. Photo: Michael Dwyer/AP

As many as 40,000 counterprotesters massed and marched against a right-wing “free speech” rally in Boston one week after a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville led to violence that killed one counterprotester and injured dozens more. In Boston on Saturday, counterprotesters flooded the city to march for unity as well as overwhelmingly oppose what animated the rally in Virginia, especially since some of that event’s organizers were supposed to attend the Boston rally. In the end, counterprotesters outnumbered rallygoers by as many as 800 to one, and as a result, the Boston rally seemed to fall apart soon after it was supposed to begin.

Unlike in Charlottesville, there was very little violence outside of some isolated skirmishes and a few confrontations between a small number of counterprotesters and police. No one was seriously injured, no property was damaged, and as of early Saturday evening, only 27 people had been arrested, mostly for disorderly conduct. Boston police commissioner William B. Evans said in a late-afternoon press conference virtually all of the counterprotesters were peaceful and that “99.9%” of them had come for the “right reason,” which was “standing tall against hatred and bigotry in our city.”

“That’s a good feeling,” Evans added. President Trump, meanwhile, tweeted both criticism and praise for the counterprotesters on Saturday.

Boston started the summer with a controversy over a racist slur shouted at Fenway. Now here it is: pic.twitter.com/MqvTP6h8C1 — Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) August 19, 2017

The demonstration against the right-wing rally (and what happened last week in Charlottesville) was massive, starting for many with a march from Roxbury to the Boston Common, the park where the rally was to be held. At one point, the column of marchers was reportedly more than two miles long.

Protesters prepare to march in Boston against a planned “Free Speech Rally” just one week after the violent “Unite the Right” rally in Virginia led to deadly violence. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The difference in crowd sizes was especially stark because the “free speech” protesters were allowed to assemble in an area of the Common that was protected by police barricades:

Crowd shouts at man wearing Trump shirt. Brief argument and cops take him toward #Bostonfreespeechrally pic.twitter.com/bIgvZRiHeU — Jan Ransom (@Jan_Ransom) August 19, 2017

Just look how big the buffer zone was — and how proportionally smaller the rally was compared to the counterprotest:

This is the first video I've seen that really shows the disparity between the "free speech" rally and the thousands of counter-demonstrators pic.twitter.com/Lca2J3vhsc — Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) August 19, 2017

The “free speech” rally was supposed to take place from 12:00–2:00 p.m., but seems to have lasted no more than 50 minutes, apparently falling apart and ending a little before 1:00 p.m., a police official told the Boston Globe. At that point, rally participants were given a police escort out of the park to the cheers and jeers of the counterprotesters who surrounded the rally. It seems no more than 50 rallygoers ultimately attended, though others may have been unable to make it to the rally on account of the massive crowds.

Heavy police presence on the Boston Common. They are creating a path for free speech protesters to enter the band stand. pic.twitter.com/hrbqjBryoh — Emily Mesa-Zendt (@emilyzendt) August 19, 2017

There were some skirmishes between the two sides, but they were limited to scuffles and shouting matches.

Verbal confrontation breaking out. Crowd yelling shame as this guy screams at Trump supporter in hat. pic.twitter.com/PTl9SdMeQW — Steve Annear (@steveannear) August 19, 2017

However, after the rally was over, there were some confrontations between counterprotesters and police. Most of that tension occurred as police were trying to load the rallygoers into vans to be safely transported away from the Common. Police had to hold back counterprotesters, some of whom attempted to charge at the police vehicles, and arrests followed.

Speakers from rally stuck in police van trying to get out. Plastic bottle of Gatorade thrown. "Make them walk" chant #bostoncommon pic.twitter.com/dyudKlSDcc — Rob Crilly (@robcrilly) August 19, 2017

There was also another confrontation where some demonstrators threw projectiles, including urine-filled bottles, at police near Tremont and West Streets. When police backed down, according to the Globe, that conflict dissipated.

Boston’s police commissioner later said that none of this surprised the department, as they were well-prepared, and that the police response went according to plan. He criticized only the small number of people who came to the protests to cause trouble.

The limited conflict between demonstrators and police, which didn’t reflect the overall peacefulness of the protest, unsurprisingly drew the ire of President Trump. He tweeted on Saturday afternoon that it “looks like” there were “many anti-police agitators in Boston.”

Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

Later, presumably after watching Boston authorities explain how peaceful and positive the day had been, President Trump changed his tone dramatically from both earlier in the day and earlier in the week when he seemed to equate the Charlottesville counterprotesters with the white supremacists and neo-Nazis they were opposing:

Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

Boston Free Speech, the group which organized and obtained a permit for the rally, has tried to distance itself from the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, insisting that Saturday’s rally would be nonviolent, encompass all political ideologies, and be focused on fighting censorship. The group originally publicized that Charlottesville organizers would be attending the event, however, and admitted there would likely be “overlap” between the two rallies since “not everyone in Charlottesville was a white nationalist.” Some of the organizers of the Charlottesville rally had been slated to speak in Boston, but either cancelled or were uninvited over the past week. The Boston Herald reports that some Ku Klux Klan members were planning to attend as well.

This guy says he was inspired by Tina Fey. He brought a cake reading "nazis suck" to the free speech rally, said it's choc + vanilla flavor pic.twitter.com/hitheRVkDz — Emily Mesa-Zendt (@emilyzendt) August 19, 2017

It’s not clear how many white supremacists tried to demonstrate in Boston, but some protest-song composers opposed to Nazi job security were definitely there:

we did it 😂 pic.twitter.com/hnwM7QEaEX — the mao kid 🌹 (@kid_mao) August 19, 2017

Boston mayor Marty Walsh had opposed the rally and, worried about more violence in the aftermath of what happened in Charlottesville, had asked the group the postpone the event. “There is no place” in Boston for the kind of hatred seen last week in Charlottesville, Walsh had said. In the end, he acknowledged the rallygoers had the right to hold the event. Ultimately, while the “free speech” event still happened, not many people showed up — at least on the rally side.

Counterprotesters left behind their signs, reminding the city of their message: #BostonFreeSpeechRally pic.twitter.com/Ah70NHj7fD — Jan Ransom (@Jan_Ransom) August 19, 2017

This post has been updated throughout to include new information as it became available.