KENT, Ohio -- None of us really knew what to expect when we arrived at Kent State University Saturday afternoon ahead of an open-carry gun walk set to take place on the campus at 2 p.m.

Activists, reporters and law enforcement alike stood in tense anticipation as it got closer to go-time.

And as it turns out, there was good reason for concern. Physical and verbal altercations erupted between the gun-rights activists and counter-protestors, with hundreds of police officers in the middle. Four people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, with one additionally charged with assault on a police officer.

At one point, I found myself caught in the middle, when, after heated words, police officers physically pushed counter-protestors and they pushed back. I was located behind the officers at the time but a group counter-protestors ran up behind me and toward the altercation.

In the process, I ended up being knocked over by those trying to get in the action. I wasn't on the ground long, as some of the officers near me cleared out the area getting me back on my feet, minimizing the number of times I was stepped on. Seconds after that, I was elbowed in the side but I managed to stay on my feet that time.

But let's take a step back for a second and recount how we got there:

Before the walk began, the parking lot where the gun-rights activist congregated, was flanked by different law enforcement officers. Counter-protestors gathered just across the street.

I began the walk with the gun-rights activists. We walked up one side of the blocked-off street leading to the campus, police officers marched down the median and the counter-protesters occupied the other side of the street. Within moments the verbal attacks began from both sides as the crowd grew wider and the police officers did their best to physically keep the groups separated.

The walk didn't make it far. In fact, it came to halt after less than a half a mile, with counter-protestors blocking the progress by standing arm-in-arm across the length of the walkway.

The police officers then set up their line of defense to keep the groups separate. The officers formed two tight lines, creating a human wall themselves, separating the two groups. The officers' lines met at the end and almost made a full circle where other officers with different equipment remained guarded in the middle.

When all movement came to a stop I found myself located between the line of officers and the line of counter-protestors. At times there were about five feet between the two groups. At other times, it was body-to-body with both sides pushing heavily against the other. At one point one of the counter-protestors threw liquid at the officers, hitting the face masks of their tactical gear and me, too, in the process. I'm thinking (and hoping) it was just water.

I eventually found a way out of the crowd, and tried to get to the gun-rights activists. However some counter-protestors made their way as well and the verbal, and sometimes physical, altercations resumed. It was at this point that I was knocked to the ground.

Soon after this the gun-rights activists began making their way back to the parking lot and the counter-protestors followed along in song.

At that point, many of the gun-rights activists went back to their cars in the lot. Others stayed just outside the lot, however, and more heated interactions continued.

One of the largest was when a gun-rights activist's flag was taken off of his flag pole. It resulted in a physical altercation between the two groups with many of the counter-protestors were enraged after believing him to have reached for his gun.

Not too long after that the scene calmed down significantly. Members of both groups said they wouldn't leave until the other did but slowly the crowd thinned.