ANN COULTER BERKELEY PROTEST: Peaceful demonstrations at UC Berkeley after Coulter cancellation

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The free speech showdown involving conservative commentator Ann Coulter that many people feared Thursday in Berkeley never really happened.

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Coulter did not appear.

Police from several jurisdictions flooded the city of Berkeley and wanted to be prepared just in case.

"The past 18 years, I've been here, I've not seen this amount of officers deployed for an event," said Byron White of the Berkeley police.

UC Berkeley police called for mutual aid. Though Coulter didn't speak, police set up barricades, blocked buildings and were on high alert. They made two arrests.

PHOTOS: Groups protest in Berkeley over Ann Coulter


In the meantime, near Civic Center Park, there were two sides with very different viewpoints. They stayed opposite sides of the street thanks to a very long and well-armed police line.

The strong police presence was noted and actually appreciated by members of both groups. Many expected major problems.

When asked if he was attacked during the protests, Trump supporter Tyler Fisher said, "No, not today. The police did a really good job of keeping everybody separate."

"I'm glad the police decided to step in between which is great, especially since we're outnumbered," said anti-Trump protester Richard.

Police reported no injuries and no property damage.



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