(CNN) Protesters clashed with police outside a US Senate candidate debate Wednesday in Louisiana that included former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

Police used pepper spray on protesters as they tried to squeeze through the doors of the debate venue on the New Orleans campus of historically black Dillard University, according to a university spokesman.

"I can taste the pepper spray," Nick Reimann, a writer for Loyola University's student newspaper, tweeted.

I can taste the pepper spray. Protestors and police clash at #Dillard #senatedebate pic.twitter.com/KLRtiacWGq — Nick Reimann (@nicksreimann) November 3, 2016

Six people, including one student, were arrested for obstructing traffic, the spokesman said.

Outside, protesters carried signs decorated with swastikas declaring "No hate," and "We have not forgotten."

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