CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Members of a western Ohio militia marched into downtown Cleveland for a second straight day carrying semi-automatic rifles to safeguard people, property and police during the 2016 Republican National Convention.

"If the cops don't care for it, we will," said West Ohio Minutemen member Dan Stevenson.

He and other members of the West Ohio Minutemen patrolled single-file around Public Square Tuesday, donning camouflage military fatigues, semi-automatic rifles and two-way radios.

Stevenson said the seven-member group, based in Lima, would do its part to keep people safe if the thousands of police officers and law enforcement officers from around the country are unable to handle the crowds outside the convention.

"They're not keeping up with all the protesters beating up on good American citizens, tearing up people's property," Stevenson said. "They're not gonna do that here in Ohio. We guarantee they won't if we're anywhere around."

Cleveland police are familiar with the group, which is made up of former members of the military who wear combat boots, camouflage pants and vests outfitted with rifle magazines, two-way radios and earpieces.

The group, and other Second Amendment proponents have garnered much media attention since they arrived.

Cleveland police officials said before the convention requested that people leave their guns at home, even though Ohio is a so-called "open-carry" state, in which people can feely carry handguns.

"There will be enough law enforcement officers to take care of whatever happens," Chief Calvin Williams told cleveland.com last week.

But Stevenson and others came nonetheless. Not because he is a supporter of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

"I'm a freedom supporter," he said.

Stevenson also declined to say how long his group planned to be in Cleveland.

"If we're needed, we'll be here," he said.

The group marched to Public Square Tuesday just as hundreds of demonstrators from all political leanings converged. A few scuffles threatened to spark a much bigger outburst, but police swiftly separated the groups.

The militia was not one of the groups involved in the scuffle.