ST PAUL, Minnesota (AFP) — A confrontation between police and hundreds of anti-war protesters seeking to march on the Republican party's convention ended with the arrest of up to 200 people, US media reported on Friday.
On the final night of the party's convention, the demonstrators had sought to march to the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul where Republican delegates were gathered but the protesters were blocked by rows of police equipped with riot gear.
When protesters refused to disperse as ordered, a tense confrontation ensued on Thursday evening with demonstrators sitting down in the street about a mile from the convention hall.
More than 200 people were taken into custody on the Marion Street bridge, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
Police used tear gas and pepper spray in the clash with demonstrators, and more than a dozen journalists were among those detained, the Star-Tribune said.
Commander Doug Holtz of the St Paul Police Department said "a couple of hundred" people had been arrested Thursday but the precise number would not be known until later Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
As of 10:30 pm (0300 GMT), the Ramsey County jail said about 90 demonstrators had been booked, according to the Times.
Police used snowplows, horses and dump trucks to seal off the city center of St Paul from the anti-war march.
The demonstrators had a permit to march but it expired hours before Republican presidential nominee John McCain was due to deliver his acceptance speech.
McCain, a staunch supporter of the US-led war in Iraq, had his televised speech briefly interrupted by several anti-war protesters who managed to enter the hall, hold up signs and chant before being led away by security guards.
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