Rioters battled police in the streets of Sunderland city centre following a planned protest linked to the Southport knife attack.
Hundreds of people gathered in Keel Square, many of them draped in England flags, on Friday evening.
Members of the crowd chanted in support of Tommy Robinson.
Others shouted insults about Islam.
Mounted police followed the march, along with officers in vans who battled their way through traffic to keep up.
However, some protesters descended into violence, setting an overturned car on fire, while others targeted a mosque.
Police in protective gear came under sustained attack as rioters set off fire extinguishers on them on High West Street.
There was also a standoff between police and protesters outside a mosque on Sunderland’s St Mark’s Road.
Police in riot gear came under attack with stones and beer cans thrown.
Some protesters argued about “two-tier policing” as the police threw a protective ring around the mosque.
Mounted police pushed back demonstrators, some of whom were in masks.
Meanwhile, customers in the next door Aldi filmed the scenes on their phones through the shop window.