"They were just trying to stand there and intimidate us," said Amaya Butler of Black Lives Matter Northwest Indiana. "We were very peaceful."
The 19-year-old organizer of the Monday march in Crown Point said they were near the end of their protest over the death of George Floyd when a group of men holding guns and rifles appeared.
Other marchers said as they left, some people yelled racial slurs and insults at them.
"It was very heartbreaking," said Myjae Armstrong, a protester. "I felt shut out of my own community."
Local police officers can be seen on the same video monitoring the situation, which officials said remained peaceful.
At a town forum, the city's mayor talked about the incident. Under Indiana law, the individuals carrying guns did nothing wrong. Police Chief Peter Land had his officials check them out.
"You can carry a shotgun without a permit," Land said. "If you carry a handgun, you need a permit to carry. As long as they didn't point their rifles at anyone, it's legal to carry."
Some residents said the video doesn't capture their overall protest and remain concerned that their town will be labeled as racist.
"I thought they had a right to protest," said one resident, who wished to remain anonymous. "I also thought this was a town a little uneasy about what they had seen over the weekend."
"We should be past all of this racist stuff," said another resident, who also asked not to be named.
The group said despite their experience Monday, they will be not be deferred. They are planning more marches and protests in Crown Point and the surrounding area so that everyone knows that their black lives matter.
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Armed bystanders line Black Lives Matter protest in Indiana, protesters say aim was to intimidate - KABC-TV
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