After a quiet start Tuesday outside the Republican National Convention, things got a little heated when a group known for its extreme anti-gay views was met by about 200 counter-protesters.

A planned demonstration by the Westboro Baptist Church, a group that has protested against homosexuality at military funerals, drew an unauthorized march by counter-protesters who didn't like their message.

"Westboro Baptists are notorious 'homophobes,'" a counter-protester said. "They protested at soldiers' funerals. We feel like this has no place. We recognize the right to free speech, but we also recognize our right to counter-hate speech."

The potentially combustible confrontation just after 4 p.m. drew a large police presence, including officers in riot gear. There were a couple of brief standoffs when police inched toward the protesters, but the conflict ended peacefully.

The WBC had obtained a permit to talk for half-an-hour about what members describe as "Policies of Disobedience." The group says the media is not telling the truth about policies that are in line with God's standards, so they are picketing.

Tuesday evening, about 200 protesters from various groups gathered at Centennial Park in Ybor City and demonstrated about civil rights. Someone held up a Mitt Romney puppet with a silver spoon.

That occurred around the same time Romney was locking down the GOP presidential nomination inside the Tampa Bay Forum.

Earlier Tuesday, according to Bay News 9's partner newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, police asked about a dozen Code Pink protesters to leave the Straz Center for the Performing Arts because they were trespassing on private property.

The protesters, wearing their usual pink, held signs that read, "Arrest Condi" and "Condi - War Criminal."

Code Pink co-founder Meda Benjamin told the Times the group was protesting against former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice because she agreed to send troops to Iraq.

Doctors for America and the Florida Consumer Action Network also had rallies scheduled for Tuesday.

Overall, the turnout of protesters has been much lower than expected. In fact, the official protest zone has been largely empty.

The accompanying photos and video show what the Bay News 9's coverage team is seeing near the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

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  • You can count on us for complete Florida Decides coverage of the Republican National Convention in Tampa. In addition to live interviews and reports around the clock, we will have a special edition of Political Connections Tuesday - Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. We will also have a wrap up of the speeches each night at 11 p.m.