Since Sunday, protests marking the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson have gone from peaceful to violent with both protesters and police sustaining injuries. Now, members of a right-wing "patriot" group called the Oath Keepers have added to the instability marring the Missouri city.

A small group of Oath Keepers -- whose members are former police, first responders and military -- arrived early Tuesday pledging to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic," reports NBC News.

The Oath Keepers are reportedly armed with what appears to be assault rifles, bulletproof vests and camouflage gear. They have been spotted walking the streets as the city is under a state of emergency following violent protests connected to the anniversary of Brown's death.

Many protesters asked members of the group why they were allowed to openly carry firearms.

Missouri permits individuals with concealed weapons permits to openly carry firearms so long as it is not done in an "angry or threatening manner," according to NBC News.

"I'm happy that we're able to defend ourselves," an Oath Keeper told NBC News. "It's been our right for a long time."

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the Oath Keepers presence is "both unnecessary and inflammatory." However, Shawn McGuire, a spokesman for the police department, said police had not confronted the group or asked them to leave.

Patricia Bynes, Democratic committeewoman of Ferguson Township, said the Oath Keepers' presence distracted from the real issue: racial inequality.

"I would rather the story be on things we're working on in Ferguson and not the Oath Keepers," she said.

Bynes also questioned if people of color would be received the same way by law enforcement if they walked the streets openly displaying firearms.

"If there were black and brown people in this country who showed up in the streets open carrying assault rifles in paramilitary garb would they still be received the same way?" she asked. "It seems to be that especially when it comes to the Second Amendment there seems to be a different way that it is enforced."

While there has been concern that Oath Keepers may clash with members of the Ferguson Freedom Fighter group, no such incidents have been reported.

An Oath Keeper who identified himself as "John" told NBC News that he and the others were "just Americans trying to keep our fellow men safe."

The Oath Keepers' website outlines a list of 10 "Orders" members will not obey, and there are two which coincide with the situation in Ferguson: "We will NOT obey order to impose martial law or a 'state of emergency' on a state," and "We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances."

Oath Keeper members were also in Ferguson late last year when protests became violent following the grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed Brown.

The Oath Keepers was founded in 2004 by former U.S. Army paratrooper and Yale Law School graduate Stewart Rhodes. The organization claims to have more than 30,000 members.