Hundreds of people gathered in George Square, Glasgow on Sunday to oppose a planned demonstration demanding the removal of a statue, even as social media users claimed they may be responding to an alleged fake event created by a group called the Glasgow Youth Art Collective (GYAC).
The protestors, who had come out to defend a statue of Metropolitan Police founder Robert Peel, said they intended to conduct a “peaceful protest” in the "style of a public consultation”.
The demonstrators received police protection from any potential clashes with counter-protestors and the square was subsequently closed by law enforcement.
Demonstrators brandished the Union Jack, a symbol in Scotland often associated with maintaining the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
It is not the first time that a seemingly anti-racist protest has been portrayed in this way. On Friday, a statue of Scottish monarch Robert the Bruce was attacked with graffiti reading "racist king" and "BLM".
Perplexed netizens were quick to question why Black Lives Matter would attack an effigy of a figure who likely never saw a black person and suggested the move may have been done by "unionists" looking to stir up anger.
The protest in Glasgow comes as the United Kingdom is embroiled in controversy around racism, police brutality, and institutional discrimination within law enforcement.
In London on Saturday, demonstrators turned up to protect the now-encased statue of wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill after it was defaced during a Black Lives Matter protest last week.
Other statues, such as Bristol's effigy to slave trader Edward Colston, were torn down by crowds sparking a debate over honouring controversial historical figures.