POLITICO

The State Department expressed its “concern” about the disruption of a Moscow gay-rights demonstration Sunday, during which Americans were detained by security forces and some protesters suffered serious injuries during scuffles with counter protesters.

A police spokesman told Russian news agencies that 18 gay activists and 14 opponents were arrested during unauthorized demonstrations at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin and outside the mayor’s office, the Associated Press reported.

Among the arrested were Dan Choi, an American Iraq war veteran, and Andy Thayer, a Chicago-based activist, the New York Times reported.

Moscow routinely bans gay-rights demonstrations, earning the ire of the U.S. and the European Court of Human Rights, which has fined Russia for doing so.