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That shouldn't have been a surprise, responds Mark Cohen, an organizer of the Four Directions/All Nations march, which preceded the Columbus Day parade and ended up with about 1,500 participants converging on the Capitol.

"There never has been any violence. That's a media misconception," Cohen says. "Two years ago, we blocked the parade, but that was done peacefully."

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As for any contraband that may have been discovered along the parade routes, Cohen doubts it came from protesters. "It may have been planted by organizers from the Columbus Day parade, for all I know," he says. The seven people arrested are all out on bail, he notes, adding that any attempts to prosecute them "would be a major waste of time and money."

Both sides agree on one thing, however: They're prepared to do it all over again next Columbus Day.

Cohen's group held a postmortem on the event this week, and "we're already planning for next year," he says.

As for the Italian-Americans: "We'll march for the next 200 years," Vendegnia promises.