For months now, large and small groups have intermittently gathered in front of Whitefish City Hall to support the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement. But in recent days, upward of 100 Trump supporters have convened at the same intersection to protest the other group and show support for the president’s re-election.

Many of these individuals, according to attendees, have been armed. And according to Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial, there have been a few verbal and physical altercations between the two groups, though he emphasized no weapons have been used.

Dial said during a recent incident, a woman shoved another woman and then swung at her with her hand. He said he “wouldn’t classify it as a punch,” but did say one woman made contact with the other woman’s head. He did not elaborate on which woman was associated with which group.

The Whitefish Police Department is currently working with a prosecutor to determine if they should pursue any charges. However, Dial said after speaking with both parties, the women decided they did not want to take any kind of legal action against one another.

Aside from that confrontation and a handful of other more “minor ones,” Dial said “for the most part the gatherings have been OK.”

“They’re two groups that are both pretty passionate about their beliefs, so things have gotten a little tense at times,” Dial said.

According to one attendee, who preferred to remain unnamed, both the Black Lives Matter protesters and the counter-protesters plan to continue gathering at that same intersection in the coming weeks.

During a phone call on Friday, Dial said he had not yet been made aware of this, but said if tensions escalate he would consider asking the groups to occupy separate areas of downtown Whitefish to protest, among other measures.

Dial said the police department has been “in close contact” with the organizers of both groups and said he believes things will remain peaceful. On the topic of guns, he said he would prefer people leave their firearms at home, but also acknowledged Montana’s open carry laws and said “there isn’t much we can do about it.”

Dial added that, overall, he wishes people at the intersection would “express more maturity.

“We can all have different views and we encourage people to exercise their right to free speech,” Dial said. “But we have a responsibility to be respectful to one another and we need to see more of that.”

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com