“Because the majority of the crowd were black & the deputies/police were white, we have to face the issues,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said on Twitter in response to attendees’ complaints that arrests were racially motivated. “I don’t accept the accusations that we’re racists, or that our actions Saturday were racially motivated. It’s not true, and it’s not a fair conclusion from the video.”

The video shows large swaths of people standing close together on the streets, many of them without face masks. Even though the event violated guidelines from Florida’s Department of Health, which has advised against gatherings of more than 250 people, police didn’t get involved until night fell

Later, two men, Alphonso Parker and Charles Turner, were seen exchanging a firearm and were taken into custody after resisting officers. Turner, who had been out on bond on other charges, was charged with two counts of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, inciting a riot and resisting an officer without violence.

Parker was arrested on the same charges, with the exception of tampering with evidence. He was also charged with possession of a concealed firearm.

“Our country has an ugly history of racism and bigotry, and the chapters are still being written today,” Chitwood wrote. He defended the actions of the police, saying they had a “responsibility to step in” once they saw a gun pointed at a crowd.

“But given everything we know about our nation’s history, I also know those feelings aren’t just about Saturday night,” Chitwood continued. “That’s why I’m asking everyone to hit pause and take a second to cool off, myself included.”

Transparency helps.