Lansing — An air of hostility permeated downtown Lansing on Saturday during an emotionally charged neo-Nazi rally at the Capitol.

More than 500 police officers from 10 agencies were on hand to keep the peace between supporters of the National Socialist Movement, or NSM, and the hundreds of protesters who showed up to oppose the neo-Nazi group.

Despite friction between the two sides, police, protesters and NSM leaders all said they walked away from the weekend rally fairly satisfied with the outcome.

A maze of barriers, security checkpoints, closed streets and riot police shut down much of Lansing's downtown Saturday afternoon, helping to diffuse tensions during what were mostly peaceful protests.

Police made 16 arrests throughout the day, on

charges including disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, fighting in public and one felony assault on a police officer. Three people received minor injuries.

Lansing police Lt. Bruce Ferguson was only aware of one incident where property was damaged — a rock was thrown through the window of a Lansing Police Department van. No officers were injured.

"All in all, it went pretty well," Ferguson said. "It was a pretty good plan. It was a model for what we'll do in subsequent events."

Those wishing to watch the rally were screened at police security checkpoints. Attendees were required to empty their pockets, remove their shoes and were swept with metal detector wands.

NSM members were subjected to a similar search, Lt. Jim Shaw of the Michigan State Police said.

At about 1:45 p.m., NSM members arrived at the west entrance of the Capitol in three CATA buses accompanied by a police escort. Group spokesperson Bill White had stated he expected about 200 supporters at the rally, but no more than 75 filed into the Capitol and 10-15 sympathizers watched from behind the fence. On Sunday, White called the rally a "victorious" day for the NSM.

"I expected a good demonstration and some good coverage of it," White said. "A lot of it exceeded my expectations."

The group marched onto the Capitol steps just after 2 p.m., some dressed in Nazi uniforms, carrying shields and waving flags.

The crowd of protesters, which police estimated to be about 500 strong, answered the group's Nazi salutes with cries of "go home" from behind a fence erected at the edge of the Capitol lawn.

"We showed enormous, energetic resistance to the Nazis," Elizabeth O'Brien, a member of the Lansing Coalition Against Nazis, said on Saturday.

The Lansing Coalition Against Nazis, Direct Action, the National Lawyers Guild, the National Women's Rights Organizing Coalition and the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary were among the groups protesting the neo-Nazi rally.

"The youth of Lansing sent a message to the KKK and the Nazis that they aren't welcome here," said Luke Massie, a member of the National Women's Rights Organizing Coalition's steering committee. "I feel like the protest was successful," the 36-year-old Detroit resident said. "A strong message was sent, but it could have been stronger."

The neo-Nazis and protesters spent a good portion of the two-hour rally shouting profanities at each other across the Capitol lawn.

As protesters waved signs calling for an end to racism and banged on garbage cans, 21-year-old Ryan McCourt leaned against Comerica Bank on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Washington Square eating a pizza. McCourt, a Lansing Community College student, "scoped out" the rally as a neutral spectator.

When the protesters yelled and swore, McCourt said it detracted from their anti-Nazi message. He said any violence, especially if it is directed at police, is unproductive.

"It doesn't help the cause," McCourt said.

At one point, protesters entered the area designated for supporters of the NSM and confronted about 15 people who were sympathetic to the neo-Nazis. One protester tore a red patch with a swastika on it from a man dressed in camouflage and set the patch on fire.

Police mounted on horses quickly rode into the area and separated the groups, arresting one protester before the situation escalated. Access to the supporters' area after that was limited to neo-Nazi sympathizers by police who stood guard at the entrance.

McCourt said the police stopped a potential "riot" between the two conflicting sides.

"If you didn't have them in between everybody else, it'd be bad news," McCourt said.

Lansing resident Johnny Dolan, 17, who stood in a fenced-off area with the NSM supporters, said he wasn't afraid to show his pro-Nazi views — he dropped out of Lansing's Everett High School because he felt the school was overpopulated with black students.

Following the rally, NSM members were immediately loaded onto buses and shuttled out of the downtown. Police in riot gear made announcements for the crowd to leave the area, and they began sealing off streets around the Capitol. The neo-Nazi group's supporters were chased throughout the streets by protesters as they left the demonstration, and in several instances, the two groups exchanged heated words.

Protesters backed one neo-Nazi supporter up against a red Pontiac Grand Am and began harassing him before police intervened.

Rocks and punches were thrown at another neo-Nazi supporter in an alley near a Grand Avenue parking garage. Police escorted the man, who was bleeding from the head, out of the garage.

A group of about 100 protesters gathered near Riverfront Park and marched down Shiawassee Street toward a city-sponsored diversity celebration at Eastern High School.

O'Brien said the protesters planned to attend the rally, but were stopped by police.

"We were told by the police that we were not welcome at the diversity rally," O'Brien said.

Lt. Ferguson said police told the protesters to "move along" and the group dissipated before reaching the high school.

Political science senior Megan Gallagher, who organized the counter-rally with the Lansing Coalition Against Nazis, said she was bothered her group wasn't allowed to attend the diversity rally.

"We're not going to go into a place where there's children and old people and create chaos," Gallagher said.

Almost all of the businesses around the Capitol were closed Saturday afternoon. One that stayed open was Way Station Books & Stuff.

"I don't believe in being bullied," said store owner Randy Glumm. "It's not fair to be forced to shut down."

The Lansing police sent a letter to area businesses before the rally asking them to close during the rally.

Glumm said that while it is obvious most people oppose the views of the neo-Nazis, he didn't think it was right to close his business when they came to town.

At Eastern High School, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said the preliminary reports he heard about police response at the rally were heartening.

"Everything I've heard is that it was measured and everything was very professional," Bernero said. "It seemed to operate like a well-oiled machine."

Staff writers Bob Darrow, Adam Lark, Ken Osborne, Gabrielle Russon and Melanie Thomas and freelance reporter Alex Abate contributed to this report.