Page 17 - Devan Allen News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Counterprotesters. you know, as i look around the crowd here of thousands of people, it's mostly counterprotesters. i don't really see a huge number of police mingling with the crowd. that said, i'm sure there are plainclothes officers walking around and the police presence here is very heavy. they're just not threaded through the crowd. >> evan allen, our eyes on the ground at the moment right there where that rally is trying to get under way with "the boston globe." thank you very much, evan, for that. nbc's garrett haake is walking among the counterprotesters. i'm sure you heard what i was ...

Counterprotests, the emotions on that side are trumping everything really. i'm looking around and almost every single person i see is a counterprotester even though i am at a point where rally goers have concentrated. so they're just way, way outnumbered. >> you know, evan, that's something that garrett haake said the police are anticipating. they are vastly outnumbered, those who the the free speech rally and the counterprotesters. you're watching things develop. do you have concern at all for the potential for violence right now or in the forthcoming hour or so, or do you think police have a...

Boston. you have the free speech rally, which had booked their space and were expected to be a decent number of those in attendance, but now there is the counter rally and there are upwards of 20,000 people marching through the streets from madison park there to the boston common to meet with those gathered for the free speech rally and that is the point that police officers are mostly focused on. they are 500 strong right now in boston. let's go back to evan allen, who is at one of the entrance points there to that massive rally. she is with the "boston globe." so we spoke about 15, 20 minute...

Crowds where it started to feel violent and it doesn't have that sort of shoving energy or anything like that. there's plenty of people that are yelling at each other, but i haven't seen people move towards each other. the closest i saw anything happen was one guy tap another guy on the shoulder and he got upset about it. people are keeping their hands off. i think everybody understands the potential for violence and it could escalate quickly and i think people are trying to avoid that. >> evan, do you think that those for the free speech rally may have their voices more muted than anticipated...

Label to be defense fascism or neo-naziism. but it's how you behave out there today. this is so commendable and i think so powerful right now. >> can you see, jim, what was happening? i don't know if my director, will, can put that back up there left of screen there. we were talking with evan allen from "the boston globe" who's at one of these checkpoints and evan was telling us people are being let in literally one by one to this area. when you look at 20,000 people, obviously not everybody is going to get into the actual rally itself unless things get out of control. but they are searching p...