The conservative march disbanded after about an hour and the demonstrators were escorted away by police.
Jeh Johnson, President Barack Obama's secretary of homeland security, said if officials like Mr Mattis or White House chief of staff John Kelly came to him and said they were thinking of resigning, he'd tell them they "absolutely" must stay.
President Donald Trump applauded anti-fascist protesters following a peaceful counter-rally in Boston staged in protest against a "free speech" rally staged by right-wing activists on Saturday (19 August).
Numerous counter-protesters carried signs and stickers bearing the image of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, who was mowed down during the counter-protest against white nationalists in Chalottesville, Virginia, last week.
"It was lovely to see thousands of people across the United States of America come together today to peacefully denounce bigotry, racism & anti-semitism", she tweeted Saturday, following numerous demonstrations across the country against white supremacy.
The Boston Free Speech Coalition, which organised the event, said it had nothing to do with white nationalism or racism, and added that its group is not affiliated with the Charlottesville rally organisers in any way.
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Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill is expected to release both McMonagle and Agrusa from the case Tuesday. Cosby has maintained his innocence, saying his relations with Constand were consensual.
Then, in an odd turn of events, Trump said the "country has been divided for decades" and that protest was needed "in order to heal".
Ivanka Trump tweeted a response to last week's violence in Charlottesville, writing from her personal Twitter account that: "There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis".
The organiser of the far-right rally said that the event and its speakers were defending the First Amendment and freedom of expression.
Opponents feared that white nationalists might show up in Boston anyway, raising the specter of ugly confrontations in the first potentially large and racially charged gathering in a major U.S. city since Charlottesville. "No KKK. No racist USA" and "Americans against hate".
According to an AFP photographer at the scene, police in riot gear prevented counter-protesters from reaching the venue of the white nationalist rally-leading some to accuse police of defending "Nazis".
Despite the skirmishes Saturday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh-clearly relieved that the protests concluded with no injuries or substantial property damage reported-had words of praise at day's end for the city's police, and even for the protesters. To fight back on racism. "We should work to bring people together, not apart". The march was otherwise described as largely peaceful.
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