CLEVELAND _ You can't go 5 feet in downtown Cleveland without overhearing arguments about "Adolf Trump" and "Killary Clinton."
A dozen religious activists in fatigues continued Tuesday to appear in public spaces to hurl anti-LGBT slurs at anyone in shouting distance, and controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio strolled down a media gallery outside the Quicken Loans Arena, earning himself a healthy amount of jeers.
Tuesday afternoon, conservative radio host Alex Jones was leading a "Hillary for Prison" chant in Public Square when pushing and shoving broke out. A witness said someone threw a punch at Jones, who was escorted away by police. Police quickly broke up the skirmish, and a spokesperson for the department said no arrests were made.
But while tensions have been high during an endless string of pop-up debates and protests in the area surrounding the Republican National Convention, police have continued to keep the rhetoric and profanity from exploding into pugilism.
Swarms of Cleveland police officers on bicycles, coupled with cops from more than a dozen states, continually broken up minor skirmishes Tuesday, as demonstrations continued to be more docile than expected.
Only five people had been arrested this week in connection with the convention as of Tuesday morning, including three people who tried to hang an anti-Trump banner on flagpoles outside the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame around 8 a.m., police said.
The most chaotic display of the day came when a group that harassed anti-Trump protesters Monday made their presence known in the Public Square. Dozens of people began arguing with them, but police moved in quickly to separate the crowds. Police Chief Calvin Williams was on hand, but dismissed any notion that officers were paying extra attention to fringe groups.
Despite the relative peace, tempers could flare later in the day with the controversial Westboro Baptist Church set to speak in Public Square at 5 p.m. A flag burning has also been announced for Wednesday afternoon.
Local activists have attributed the calm to an overwhelming police presence downtown. Cops have outnumbered activists at most events nearly 3-to-1, according to Jocelyn Rosnick, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
"They are displaying shows of force in what they are wearing, what they are using, but what we've seen so far has been constitutional policing and that is a good thing," she said.
The effect of the swarming police presence was especially visible on Euclid Avenue, downtown's main thoroughfare, where a woman shouting about mistreatment of black people at a lunch table instantly drew a throng of media around 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Her speech escalated into an argument between pro and anti-Trump forces within minutes, and a Cleveland police captain was forced to step between a man and a pro-Trump biker who had begun puffing their chests and threatening to punch one another.
"Enjoy your stay in the city of Cleveland," the cop said as he separated the two, rolling his eyes in exhaustion.
