Black Lives Matter protesters in an Indiana town were greeted with a line of white men and women carrying guns.
The town of Crown Point, Indiana, held a small march and rally on Monday afternoon in protest of the death of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody, and anti-black racism in the US.
Amaya Butler, 19, was one of the speakers at the rally. She told BuzzFeed News that the march of about 50 people went down the town's Main Street, which is where the armed counterprotesters were.
"It was actually a pretty shocking sight to see because I’ve been in Crown Point almost my whole life, and I’ve never seen anything like this in the city that I reside in," she said. "It was just disheartening to see how much racism and hate was just lingering and hiding in the city."
A video circulating on Twitter shows the line of men and women, including at least eight men holding guns.
a video from when we took the BIKE TRAIL back to our cars after police advised us to because of the amount of people standing by the street with their bats and guns.. these men followed us- if the cops weren’t there i genuinely don’t know what would have happened.
"The people with the guns, they were basically trying to intimidate us," said Butler.
Police escorted the protest down Main Street and to the rally at the town's main square, where Butler gave a speech to the crowd.
BLACK LIVES MATTER.🤎 I got the pleaseeee to be one of the leaders of the Crown Point Protest. We are marching to the courthouse to have our voices heard.
"I stand here as a young black woman who is fed up with the tragedies that keep occurring throughout this country," she said at the rally. "I am tired of turning on the news only to see another beautiful soul unfairly taken from this earth."
She said that during the rally, some things were shouted by people across the street at a bar who had followed the protest down Main Street.
"There were so many people saying 'F you,' 'your mom,' 'Trump this,' 'Trump that.' That’s where most of it was," she said.
Crown Point Police Chief Pete Land told BuzzFeed News there were no physical altercations or arrests during the protest.
"The individuals who chose to stand along the roadways with their firearms were not part of the march, they were standing along the roadway as the police escorts and marchers walked by," said Land, by email.
"We did have a few subjects, who were counter protesters, attempting to join the march; however, the officers stopped them and prevented that from happening."
The video of the armed men has gone viral after being shared on other accounts, with more than 7 million views.
America do you have any idea how insane this looks the outside
Butler said she hadn't been scared, and the Crown Point protest had actually been a "breath of fresh air" after attending an earlier protest in nearby Merrillville, where there were clashes between police and protesters. She said the main difference between the two communities is that Crown Point is majority white.
"I can’t help but believe that that was the reason why there was such a big difference in the attitude of the police," she said.
Even though she walked by the armed men, she said she hadn't been scared due to her faith.
"No one can hurt me when I have God on my side, and I felt that during that march God was on our side," she said.
CORRECTION
The protest took place on Monday, June 1. A previous version of this article stated an incorrect date.