Groups clash outside Planned Parenthood for third week in a row, police say

For the third week in a row, a gathering outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Olympia turned violent on Friday morning as protesters and counterprotesters clashed.

According to police, one of the protesters hit someone in the back of the head with some kind of weapon. Another protester then got the weapon and hit the first protester in the face.

Two people were taken to the hospital. One person was taken into police custody.

Police say there have been mostly peaceful demonstrations by pro-life and pro-choice groups outside Planned Parenthood in Olympia for years. Last month, members of the far-right Patriot Prayer group came to support the pro-life demonstrators and one person was hit in the face with pepper spray.

Since then, the weekly protests have turned violent, police say. At least one person at Friday’s demonstration was associated with Patriot Prayer, according to police.

This story was originally published February 9, 2018 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Groups clash outside Planned Parenthood for third week in a row, police say."