Around 8,000 people gathered on Saturday in the German city Kassel to protest against far-right extremism seven weeks after the killing of local politician Walter Luebcke.
The protesters had gathered for three separate demonstrations against a planned far-right rally, police said Saturday morning.
 The far-right protesters planned to rally against what they say is an attempt to use Luebcke's killing in order to unfairly paint them as violent. However, police said the far-right protesters had not arrived by noon, when the rally was supposed to begin.
The demonstration was scheduled to take place after a court denied attempts to ban it earlier this week. Police earlier said they expected up to 500 far-right protesters, and several thousand counter-protesters. After calls for violence began circulating online, police prepared for a major operation, and have completely cordoned off the area around the far-right protesters' meeting point.
Walter Luebcke, a local politician in Kassel, was fatally shot at his home on June 2. He had become the target of threats for supporting Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policies. Prosecutors say Luebcke's death was a politically motivated murder linked to right-wing extremism.
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