A Black reporter in Michigan has been released from police custody after he was arrested while covering a white nationalist group’s rally on Saturday.

According to CNN, Kalamazoo officials have apologized after MLive reporter Samuel Robinson was wrongly arrested in the downtown area as he recorded physical altercations between the alt-right group Proud Boys and counterprotesters this weekend.

With violence escalating between the groups, Robinson tweeted at 12:49 p.m. on Saturday that he barely saw any police intervention. Moments later, police clad in riot gear caught up with the procession and detained the reporter. Robinson, wearing MLive credentials, can be heard pleading with detaining officers that he was a member of the press.

"I'm being arrested now," Robinson said while recording his own arrest. "I'm media, dude. I'm media. I'm with MLive. I'm with MLive.”

At 4:04 p.m., the 23-year-old revealed in a tweet that he was arrested and charged with impeding traffic.

Robinson was released later that day on a $100 bond, MLive reported.

On Sunday, Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas said she was sorry for the harm caused to Robinson and that the department supported protecting the rights of journalists.

"I apologize for the trauma that it caused to this young man," she told WOOD-TV. "We all respect the sanctity of the press."

Robinson was one of 10 people arrested during the event on Saturday. Mayor David Anderson said he is meeting with city lawyers about dropping charges connected to five of those people arrested under city ordinances, CNN reports.

Thomas said police were aware of the protest and counterprotest since July and were prepared with 111 officers in case of an incident, WOOD-TV reports.

Although Thomas told WOOD-TV she believed no members of the Proud Boys were arrested, Deputy City Manager Jeff Chamberlain said in a statement that “multiple groups” were armed with weapons and firearms, according to MLive.

Chamberlain said several altercations took place when the white nationalist group came face-to-face with counterprotesters. He added that once officers intervened, the chaos was quelled. 

Before the violence broke out, counterprotesters held an anti-racism vigil within Arcadia Creek Festival Place. Rev. Nathan Dannison of First Congregational Church, who helped organize the nonviolent Vigil Against Terror, told MLive that the demonstration took an ugly turn after Proud Boys members attacked people experiencing homelessness.

“I think people who showed up were very brave and this was a success,” Rev. Dannison said. “As soon as the Proud Boys reached the perimeter of the park, they began to assault some of the homeless people who live around there. That’s what triggered the violence. A lot of bystanders saw what appeared to be a lynching about to take place and that’s when it all exploded.”

He said members of his church were pepper-sprayed and it was clear that “the Proud Boys were going after Black people in the crowd.”

Despite warnings from Black activists and community leaders to maintain a police presence during the hate group’s rally, Thomas said prior protests motivated the department to take a hands-off approach.

“We learned in review in early June that large scale presence of officers often created a contentious situation. We then changed our operation to allow for presence at the events but from the background and less visible, so that we do not become the target,” she said.

MLive’s leadership responded to the incident in a statement, supporting Robinson’s right to work and calling for working journalists to be treated with respect by police.

“The working press must be assured the right to cover public events that clearly are in the public interest, without reprisals. These situations are difficult for all involved, but media who identify themselves are not a part of the event — they are working it, just like the police,” John Hiner, vice president of content for MLive Media Group, said.

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