Tensions ran high between two groups who gathered near the Santa Maria courthouse on Thursday after the arraignment of the men suspected of raping and murdering a 64-year-old Santa Maria woman.
While about 35 people gathered on the west side of Miller Street at noon to protest illegal immigration, about the same number gathered across the street in counterprotest, saying that the protesters are using a tragedy to further a political agenda.
The competing protest groups shouted back at one another across the street. Cries of "stop the hate" were countered with "stop the murder."