Tensions were high as protests collided in Minden Saturday morning.
Hundreds of Northern Nevada residents showed their support for law enforcement as early as 6 a.m., before a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest was scheduled to start.
Protests follow a controversial letter written by Douglas County Sheriff, Daniel Coverley. The letter was addressed to the Douglas County Library Board as it considered a proposed diversity statement in support of the BLM movement.
A specific portion of Coverley's letter made national headlines.
It read:
"Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help."
Supporters of Sheriff Coverly say they believe his statement was taken out of context.
Jim Wheeler a member of the Nevada State Assembly, District 39 said, "I know exactly what he was saying, and he was saying if you want to defund the police through these organizations, why do you bother calling the police with you're in trouble. And that's what he meant. He didn't say don't call the police."
BLM protesters say the comments Coverely made were inappropriate and wrong.
"There's no oversight of what he did and what he said, and I just can't let this stand," said Marie Johnson, a Douglas County resident. "He threatened our library and this is our tax dollars at work here."
Douglas County Sheriff Coverley addressed the media Saturday morning to clarify his statement.
"I want to say that I love this community. My focus has always been and always will be protecting it," said Sheriff Coverley.
Minden Distillery Owner Addresses Rumors Surrounding Protests
He adds, "For the record, we support the library and the services they provide. We will continue to protect and serve them and all citizens and visitors to Douglas County."
After Sheriff Coverley's press conference, his supporters stationed themselves in large groups near the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Cory Baird the organizer of the Support Dan Coverely counter protest said, "We wanted to show our support to the Sheriffs in huge numbers."
Heavily armed demonstrators said they had peaceful intentions and they came out to protect their community and surrounding businesses in light of Nationwide riots.
"It was very clearly stated that there would be no violence and no tolerance. We have multiple people on scene watching our group, and any signs of that they will be taken out of the group as well," said Baird.
In response, BLM protesters say they do not want riots to be associated with Black Lives Matter.
"The people who are creating violence and don't want to peacefully protest are not associated with Black Lives Matter. We just want peace and equality," said Laurel Czujko.
BLM protesters also told 2 News that they dispersed in smaller groups to demonstrate as large crowds in support of law enforcement trailed behind them chanting, "go home."
While organizers of each protest were trying to mediate conflicting parties, several confrontations between groups still occurred. No active police reports have been filed at this time in regards to any altercations occurring during the protest.
The Sheriff’s Office estimates the combined size of the groups was between 750 and 1,000 protesters.
They say protesters blocked traffic in intervals on US Highway 395 and residential streets in the Town of Minden. A handful of small arguments broke out between BLM protesters and counter protesters during the demonstrations.
Authorities say one police report was filed on August 8 in regards to the protest. Three police reports have been filed as of August 11. One report was filed on Saturday by a witness to a battery; the second report was a possible suicidal person at the protest; the third was filed on Tuesday and was a battery report alleging had someone was spit on at the Old Courthouse.
There were no arrests, no citations, and no injuries reported at the protest.
Some BLM protesters say they did not feel safe being surrounded by antagonizing crowds of armed citizens, but others say they refuse to be intimidated.
As BLM protester Jerome Silas collided with a crowd of counter protesters he said, "The next time we come to see ya'll, we're coming with more people, because we will not be moved."
BLM protesters had planned to leave by 2 p.m. which is earlier than originally scheduled. They say they wanted to avoid any crossover with potential riots.
Counter protesters say they planned to stay in the area to make sure a riot doesn't occur.
See below for Sheriff Coverley's full statement.
