Masked members of a white nationalist group chanted slogans like “Reclaim America” as they marched from Arlington National Cemetery to the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, escorted by local police.

There were no arrests, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. “Our presence at any demonstration is not an endorsement of a particular group,” says D.C. police spokesperson Dustin Sternbeck. “We are there to ensure the safety of the public.”

The group, Patriot Front, is an offshoot of Vanguard America, which marched in the fatal Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017. James Alex Fields, who was convicted of killing counterprotester Heather Heyer that day while driving into a crowd of demonstrators, was photographed marching with with Vanguard America beforehand. (The group denies ties to Fields.) Patriot Front, which was founded shortly after Unite the Right, calls for “American Fascism.” According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Patriot Front “was one of a number of hate groups that sought to recast itself as mainstream, patriotic Americans by dressing up their propaganda and rhetoric in Americana.”

A livestream of Saturday’s Patriot Front demonstration from independent journalist Ford Fischer shows members of the group wearing identical navy jackets, khakis, and white face masks as they march in formation with a flag that mixes the U.S. stripes with an Italian fascist symbol. The group marched from Arlington through the National Mall to the U.S. Capitol and ultimately, to the H Street Walmart’s parking garage, where they loaded into white vans and left. They were surrounded by MPD officers on bike and on foot, who kept them separated throughout from a small group of visible counter protesters. (Police appeared to outnumber both members of Patriot Front and the counter demonstrators.) Some onlookers could be seen on video taunting and booing the Patriot Front demonstrators.

When the group arrived at the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, police closed off the area and prevented media and counter demonstrators from joining them, according to Fischer and independent journalist Zach D. Roberts. “For about 10 minutes, the entirety of the lawn in front of Capitol Hill was shut off from everyone, save a Southern Poverty Law Center designated hate group,” reported Roberts on Visu.News.

“We organized the march to symbolically reclaim our nation’s capital from the Jews, Marxists, & anti-white enemies in government who want to see white Americans erased,” Patriot Front leader ‎Thomas Rousseau, who is based in Texas, told WUSA 9’s Mike Valerio. “We will be back in D.C. eventually but not for the foreseeable future.”

According to Sternbeck, MPD was “aware of the group coming here based on open-source information.” Unlike other recent rallies featuring extremists, this one was not promoted publicly by the group beforehand. Generally, white supremacists who demonstrate in the District with advanced notice are outnumbered by counter protesters. MPD’s tactic is to try to keep the two groups apart from one another to avoid violence.

However, attempts to keep extremists apart from the general populace have often been met with criticism. When Metro provided special accomodation for white nationalists during the Unite the Right II rally in D.C. in August 2018, some elected officials and the transit agency’s union condemned the decision.

Martin Austermuhle contributed reporting to this story.