Firefighters were on hand, but the rush of photographers and apparent Periscopers forced police to intervene more quickly than perhaps they might have. (The media blitz at each slight hiccup on the streets this week has tended to attract more police pushback than almost any protest action downtown.) By the end of the flareup, though, roving reporters had caught the most notable kerfuffle of the week.
It's mostly unclear what happened, however. Scene gathers that, briefly, there was the beginning of a fire, but a police officer immediately put it out. Several people were arrested, including members of the Revolutionary Communist Party. (Police scanner traffic reported 10 arrests — although, because of the amorphous nature of things, that's not always a reliable source. We'll keep this post updated as we learn more.) (Update: WOIO reports 19 arrests.) Beyond that, there was some general shoving and shifting among the crowd, with at least one local reporter telling us that he got slammed into a table full of Trump swag, "right in the nuts."
Police cleared much of the East Fourth/Prospect intersection, reportedly allowing only delegates to remain on the streets. (The entrance to the Q is right there.)
VINCE GRZEGOREK
