Cleveland.com journalist is pushed to the ground during Kent State University's open-air march

KENT, Ohio – None of us really knew what to expect when we arrived at Kent State University on Saturday afternoon, before an open door – to – door march on campus at 2 pm.

Activists, reporters and law enforcement have shown a lot of anticipation as the starting point approaches.

And as it turns out, there were good reasons to worry. Physical and verbal altercations erupted between shooting rights activists and counter-protesters, with hundreds of police officers at the center. Four people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Another was also charged with assaulting a police officer.

At one point, I found myself caught in the middle when, after loud words, police physically pushed the counter-protesters and they pushed back. I was located behind the officers at that time, but a group of counter-protesters rushed behind me and towards the altercation.

In the process, I ended up being upset by those who were trying to get into the action. I did not stay long on the ground because some of the officers close to me cleaned up the area, getting back on my feet, minimizing the number of times I was trampled. Seconds later, I was cranked to the side, but I managed to stay up that time.

But let's take a step back and tell how we got there:

Before the march began, the parking lot where the gun rights activist was gathered was flanked by various law enforcement officers. Counter-demonstrators gathered just across the street.

I started walking with gun rights activists. We walked from one side of the blocked street leading to the campus, police officers marched in the median and counter-protesters occupied the other side of the street. Within minutes, verbal attacks began on both sides as the crowd expanded and the police tried their best to physically keep the groups apart.

The walk was not far away. In fact, it stopped in less than a kilometer, while the counter-protesters blocked the progress by standing arm in arm along the passage.

The police then set up their line of defense to keep the groups apart. The officers formed two tight lines, creating a human wall separating the two groups. The officer lines met at the end and almost made a full circle where other officers with different equipment remained in the middle.

When all the movements stopped, I found myself between the row of officers and the row of counter-protesters. Sometimes there was about five feet between the two groups. At other times, it was a close combat, with both sides pushing hard against each other. At one point, one of the counter-protesters threw liquid on the agents, hitting the masks on their tactical gear and myself as well. I think (and hope) that it was just water.

I finally found a way out of the crowd and tried to join the gun rights activists. However, some counter-protesters also made their way and the verbal and sometimes physical altercations resumed. That's when I was knocked down.

Shortly after, gun rights activists began to return to the parking lot and the counter-demonstrators followed singing.

At that time, many gun rights activists returned to their cars. Others remained just outside the lot, and the warmer interactions continued.

One of the most important has been the removal of the flag of a gun rights activist. This resulted in a physical altercation between the two groups, many of the counter-demonstrators being furious after believing they had reached.

Shortly after, the scene calmed significantly. The members of both groups said that they would not leave until the others did not, but the crowd slowly faded.