Open-carry walk draws groups of police, supporters and protesters on Ohio college campus

Kaitlin Bennett, a recent graduate from Ohio's Kent State University, posed on campus with her AR-10 in photos that quickly went viral and sparked a heated debate on social media.

Credit: Kaitlin Bennett via Twitter (used with permission)

Credit: Kaitlin Bennett via Twitter (used with permission)

Kaitlin Bennett, a recent graduate from Ohio's Kent State University, posed on campus with her AR-10 in photos that quickly went viral and sparked a heated debate on social media.

Gun rights supporters, counterprotesters and police are clashing during an ongoing demonstration at Kent State University in northeastern Ohio today.

The demonstration — a walk to support the open carrying of firearms — appears to have attracted the attention of hundreds of people, including state troopers, who are on campus in riot gear, according to reports.

The walk comes just a few months after a Kent State grad posed for photos on campus with an AR-10. The photos went viral and sparked some controversy.

» MORE: Kent State grad poses with AR-10 on campus in viral photos

Kaitlin Bennett, the walk's organizer, first announced plans for the event in August, reports KentWired, the website of the university's student newspaper and TV station.

The event is being sponsored by the conservative political organization Liberty Hangout, which Kent State issued a $14,000 invoice to for security and equipment fees, KentWired reported.

Here are tweets from the scene of the event.

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