As the Westboro group left the stage before 6pm, Vermin Supreme, the bearded, rain-boot-hatted, absurdist political comedian was shrieking into a megaphone, bidding them a hostile goodbye.

The joke protesters and a rag-tag assembly of anti-Trump protesters remained on the square, to the sounds of bongo drums, surrounded by a much larger crowd of police and media.

Image for article titled The Westboro Baptist Church protest made for the most bizarre RNC scene yet
Image: Hanna Kozlowska/Quartz

Thus far, protests in Cleveland appear to be calmer than anticipated, with groups no larger than several hundred showing up to both pro- and anti-Trump gatherings. Cleveland police and officers from law enforcement agencies from all around the country are highly visible patrolling city streets.

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