They were rebels without a cause.

At least not a clear one.

They were anti-Nazi and pro-Muslim. A few liked the police, but most didn’t. They were in favour of Canada, but they had varying ideas of who should be Canadian. Black Lives Matter to some, but not others. They didn’t say much about gentrification, but some believed that “Capitalism sucks.” They were patriots who had to stick to sidewalks because they didn’t apply for demonstration permits. The media were vultures, but everybody played to their cameras. This land was stolen, but it belongs to everybody. We should fight for what we believe in or we should all just get along. They wanted their voices heard, but kept their faces covered.

In all, it was a protest comprising a confusing variety of causes and groups which wandered up and down Hamilton’s Main St. W. a couple of times looking for a place to go. The 150 or so participants were aiming for Locke St. S., but walls of police officers at every corner easily kept them back. Eventually, the protesters returned to Victoria Park, where they had started from, to shout at each other. They were angry, loud and ornery, but lacking in clarity.

“Is he one of us or one of them?” a protester asked pointing to a guy ranting about taking back the city.

The whole muddled and bewildering thing lasted 90 minutes before a Hamiltonians Against Fascism (HAF) guy with a bullhorn told everyone it was time to go home.

Hamilton police say there were no arrests or injuries.

It was billed as a “Patriot Walk on Locke” on social media, apparently instigated by far-right groups wanting to demonstrate against a recent vandalism spree on Locke St. by a masked mob. In online postings leading up to Sunday’s walk, the Patriots seemed to include Soldiers of Odin, the Proud Boys and the Ontario Northern Guard.

A half-dozen or so Soldiers of Odin members, wearing jackets with their logo, were on Locke St. Sunday morning waving small Canadian flags outside Donut Monster — one of the businesses damaged by the earlier vandalism.

It didn’t take long after the Patriot Walk was announced for HAF to organize a counter rally to oppose the patriots, whom it says are an “anti-immigrant hate group.”

HAF said its members would cover their faces to protect themselves from patriot harassment.

At 11 a.m., about 20 members of the HAF marched through Victoria Park toward Locke St. with red bandanas over their lower faces and carrying red banners reading “Revolutionary Communist Party” and “Never Again Means Never Again.”

“No racists, no fascists, all power to the masses,” they chanted. But also, “Cops and Klan go hand in hand.”

Their group got bigger as they marched, though who was joining in on the action is hard to say.

Across the road from them were members of the Hamilton and District Labour Council who carried signs saying “Shut Down Hate.”

The patriots “are here to exploit the situation that happened on Locke Street,” said Barry Conway, second vice-president with Hamilton and District Labour Council. “Regardless if you’re coming in peace, you’re still a hateful group and that’s not welcome.”

The labour council “promotes inclusion in our community” and knows that “when we come together, united, we are vibrant and sustainable,” Conway said.

In the end, there never was a big showdown between the patriots on Locke St. and the counterprotesters. Police did not allow that to happen.

The police presence in the protest area was immense and included Hamilton’s own patrol, ACTION, mounted and public order units. There were also officers from Toronto and Waterloo.

The mounted unit patrolled the sidewalks. Bike cops flanked the marching protesters. Yellow-jacketed patrol officers blocked off every side street. At one intersection, as protesters approached, doors rolled open on several unmarked white vans and dozens more police jumped out.

Meanwhile, police were also keeping watch over the Tower, Hamilton’s anarchy headquarters at Cannon and Victoria Sts., according to Const. Lorraine Edwards. There were some protesters in that area, she said.

While all of that was going on, there were roughly 9,000 runners competing in the Around the Bay Road Race just a few blocks away.

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Hamilton had much to be proud of Sunday.

Things could have turned ugly, but we kept our cool.

Susan Clairmont’s commentary appears regularly in the Hamilton Spectator. sclairmont@thespec.com