TAMPA, Fla. (WRIC) — Student-organized protest demonstrations were visible from City Hall to the Convention Center during Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit.

This annual national event, driven by conservative interests, features speakers who are notable U.S. officials, including White House border czar Tom Homan, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, along with public figures such as Russell Brand.

Students from both the state and across the nation gathered for the Saturday protest, which was spearheaded by the University of South Florida’s Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.

“Turning Point USA, no matter how it might try to present itself, they are not coming on to campus to try and talk about free speech. They are not trying to promote debate and discussion,” said Oliver Cheese, a junior at Florida State University. “They’re coming onto campuses, spread propaganda to spread hatred, and so we have to have an organized response to that.”

Conservative students in support of Turning Point USA’s event told News Channel 8 they showed up to the protest in search of peaceful dialogue.

“We really just want to bring people together,” said Ava Lacey, Turning Point USA at the University of Arkansas chapter president. “We don’t care where you’re from, how much money you make, what the color of your skin is, none of that. We just want to promote constitutional rights.”

Protesters told News Channel 8 they reject the beliefs and agenda of Turning Point USA.

“The general attitude on campus among Latino students and immigrant students that their rights are under attack, that they’re under threat of being deported, of having ICE raid them in their dorms,” said Cheese.

Non-student supporters were also in attendance and weighed in on the matter.

“The reality is there’s two different kinds of immigrants; those who get here legally and those who get here illegally,” said Adam Francisco, a Mexican-born immigrant. “I support legal immigration, I’m a legal immigrant myself, and I stand against anyone who cuts the line or doesn’t respect our laws.”

Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit will continue Sunday, July 13.

Protest organizers have not yet said if demonstrations will continue into the event’s last day.