Confederate flag supporters, protesters clash during rally in Su - WSVN-TV - 7NEWS Miami Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco

SUNRISE, Fla. (WSVN) -- On one side of a South Florida park: people celebrating their right to display the Confederate flag. On the other: angry protesters intent on confronting them over what they believe the symbol represents.  

A reported 400 people were in attendance at a rally that started at Heritage Park in Plantation, Sunday afternoon, and ended in Markham Park in Sunrise. It was at the latter location that, organizers said, they were met by demonstrators. "We're just here to have a barbecue. They're out there screaming, wearing masks and ripping flags off of our trucks as we drive by," said organizer Chris Nicolaus.

Attendees captured the heated verbal exchange on camera. It was later posted on the event's Facebook page.

Protesters who learned of the planned event said those taking part in the rally are an unwelcome presence. "It's not OK to come into our town with a symbol of hate," said a protester calling himself St. James. "We delayed them at their starting point. We slowed them down."

St. James argued that Confederate flag supporters do not fully grasp the symbol's legacy. "They don't realize this is a rebellious flag," he said. "The reason all those states seceded was to keep slavery, and the more they hold up these flags, the more they're showing that's what they want: They want slavery, they want racism to be in this town."

Rally organizers, however, said they are simply exercising their right, and they don't feel that flying their flags with pride should be offensive. "We feel like it's got a bad stigma," said Nicolaus. "We're not racists. We all grew up in South Florida, multiple nationalities."

The scheduled event included a nine-mile ride and a barbecue. "We want to promote the image of heritage, not hatred," said Nicolaus. "None of us hate. We don't hate anyone."

About two dozen Sunrise Police officers and Broward Sheriff's Office deputies were on the scene to keep both groups separated and ensure the rally did not escalate into violence. "We came out here, we did a little research, we were proactive," said Sunrise Police Officer Michelle Eddy.

Rally organizers said they will likely be back, adding they would like to make this an annual or semi-annual event. "We're not really groups, we're just Southern people," said Nicolaus. "We believe that the flag should be able to stay."

St. James, on the other hand, said he feels it's important to speak out against any validation of the Confederate flag as Southern heritage. "I believe in what I'm fighting for, I believe in this cause. If someone wants to be violent towards me, I couldn't care less," he said.

Despite some verbal altercations at Markham Park, police said, there was no physical violence reported between the two groups.