A right-wing group protesting Islamic law, or Sharia, on Saturday clashed with counterdemonstrators in Seattle, Minneapolis and other cities.

ACT for America organised the marches in more than two dozen cities, saying on its website that “Sharia is incompatible with Western democracy and the freedoms it affords.” The Southern Poverty Law Center says ACT for America is the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America.

In Seattle, police used pepper spray to break up fights in Occidental Park, police spokesman Mark Jamieson said. Three people were arrested.

Earlier in the day, the anti-Sharia group rallied at City Hall Plaza while a much larger group gathered nearby, with the two groups separated by police, he said. The counter-protesters yelled and sounded horns to drown out the anti-Sharia group, CNN affiliate KOMO reported.

“At the conclusion of the rally the large group returned to Occidental Park,” Jamieson said in a news release. “Officers continued to monitor the crowds and separate the opposing groups, but shortly after 12:30 a large fight broke out. Officers used pepper spray to break up the

Counter-protesters hold a signs across the street from an anti-Islamic law rally in Seattle.

‘A bit rowdy’

Seven people were arrested at the Capitol in St. Paul, the Minnesota State Patrol tweeted from its official account. No injuries have been reported.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, two people were arrested – one for disorderly conduct and a second for striking a state police horse, said Troy Thompson of Capitol Police.

“The protesters were a bit rowdy,” Thompson said.

No violence was reported in New York City, where about 500 people gathered in Foley Square, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. Four people were arrested for loitering. (CNN)

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