Toronto police arrested eight people at a demonstration and counterprotest in the city’s downtown core on Saturday.Officers were called to Nathan Phillips Square at approximately 2 p.m.“Participants engaged in activities that caused disturbances around the demonstration,” authorities wrote in an update shared Sunday.Police say participants assaulted one another, became combative and assaulted police officers.“There were nine arrests made at the demonstration and after further investigation one person was released unconditionally with no charges,” police added.On Sunday, police announced the arrest of eight people. Among them is 25-year-old Mahnoor Mohyuddin of Milton and 35-year-old Jennifer Vong of Toronto. They were charged with seven offences, including assaulting a police officer with a weapon, throwing an explosive at a person with intent to cause bodily harm and carrying a concealed weapon.Police also charged 35-year-old Kyle Stephens of Toronto with theft, mischief and being a member of an unlawful protest.31-year-old Woodrow Fraser-Boychuk of Toronto and 23-year-old Abe Berglas of Ottawa were charged with obstructing police, disguise with intent, and being members of an unlawful protest.Authorities also laid charges against 50-year-old Darcy Belanger of Toronto for obstructing police and being a member of an unlawful protest. And 24-year-old Bryn Williams of Toronto and 27-year-old Charles Kaakee of Toronto were both charged with assault and joining an unlawful protest.They are all scheduled to appear in court within the next two months.“I want to thank the @TorontoPolice officers who were once again on the front line during yesterday’s demonstrations, often facing dangerous situations, including incidents in which officers were assaulted,” TPS Chief Myron Demkiw wrote in a social media post Sunday.“This kind of violence against police officers, or anyone, is unacceptable — full stop. Our officers are there to keep people safe, and they deserve to do their jobs without being attacked,” he added. “As we have said many times, when officers have lawful grounds to do so, arrests will be made and charges laid — anywhere in the city, whether involving protesters or counter-protesters. Everyone must respect the law.”