A group of activists bearing assault rifles and Confederate flags held a protest outside the Houston office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Sunday.

According to the Houston Chronicle, roughly 20 White Lives Matter activists gathered before police began clearing them out at around 3:30 p.m. The group reportedly had a city permit to protest until 4 p.m.

The NAACP's office is located in Houston's Third Ward, a predominantly black neighborhood.

"We came out here to protest against the NAACP and their failure in speaking out against the atrocities that organizations like Black Lives Matter and other pro-black organizations have caused the attack and killing of white police officers, the burning down of cities and things of that nature," White Lives Matter member Ken Reed said. "If they're going to be a civil rights organization and defend their people, they also need to hold their people accountable."

According to Reed, the group was carrying assault rifles not to "instigate or start any problems," but to exercise "our Second Amendment rights but that's because we have to defend ourselves."

The flags, Reed said, were meant to represent pride of their Southern heritage.

In addition to Confederate flags and a banner reading "#WhiteLivesMatter," one sign had the slogan "14 words" on it. "14 words" is part of a popular white supremacist slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

NAACP Houston's director Yolanda Smith's son, Andre Smith, posted an image on Instagram to counter the White Lives Matter protest, adding that Sunday was his mother's birthday.

The Black Lives Matter group formed in response to the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin in Florida.