UPDATE: At 10:38 p.m. Dec. 30, IMPD provided the names of the three people who were arrested on preliminary charges during the incident:

• Rodas Gebrenedhi, 20, charged with battery on a public safety official, resisting law enforcement, obstructing traffic, and disorderly conduct.
• Merih Ghebremichael, 39, charged with battery on a public safety official, resisting law enforcement, obstructing traffic, and disorderly conduct.
• Semere Gebrezgabiher, 25, charged with battery on a public safety official, resisting law enforcement, obstructing traffic, and disorderly conduct.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Three people were arrested by IMPD after a large group of protesters shut down Lafayette Road on Saturday evening.

Just after 5 p.m. Saturday, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched to an event center in the 1700 block of Lafayette Road on a report of a large gathering of protesters. That is a residential and commercial area on the city’s west side. A source close to the event told News 8 that a group was hosting a New Year’s celebratory event in support of Eritrea, an East African country.

Sometime during the event, another group that opposed Eritrea’s government came to protest the event. The large group eventually went into the roadway and began blocking traffic.

According to investigators, a vehicle drove close to the gathering and people began jumping on vehicles.

The disturbance led IMPD to shut down the area between 16th Street and Cold Spring Road for about two hours. Shortly after 7 p.m., protesters started clearing the roadway and officers allowed traffic to flow through the area again.

According to a post on the IMPD X page, two people were detained during the incident and police are asking residents to avoid the area if possible.