BOSTON -- With the threat of terrorist attacks at the Democratic National Convention high, Secret Service officers took a man who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent away in handcuffs during a march through the streets of Boston.

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The man was taken through an alley away from the rest of the marchers, who represented various protest groups marching as the Answer Coalition.

Police did not reveal the man's name. Other protesters, who followed as the man was led away, shouted angrily that the man was detained because of his appearance.

"This repressive action is exactly what the activists are talking about in this town," said John Pavlos, a man who was marching with the group and said he was a lawyer.

Pavlos negotiated with police while a small group of protesters chanted, "Let him go."

Other bystanders from the Faneuil Hall area of Boston also gathered around the scene. The man sat in handcuffs on steps near Boston's City Hall for about 20 minutes, and 10 more police officers arrived during that time as the crowd gathered.

A detective with Boston Police said that the Secret Service ordered that the man be detained, but he could give no reason why.

Pavlos said the man refused to give his name to police or produce any identification. He said the man told him that he is from Boston.

The man was later released without being charged after police identified him, according to police spokesman David Estrada.

The march was largely without incident after a small scuffle with anti-abortion protesters on Boston Common earlier in the day. Many demonstrators carried signs attacking the administration's war on terror, saying that civil liberties were violated under the Patriot Act.

It was a claim that the protesters echoed while the man was handcuffed. A young woman who would not give her name claimed that plainclothes officers had been following the man for much of the march. She said he was a victim of racial profiling.

"Three people were following him for the whole march," she said. "They had earpieces and suits and were saying, 'Look at that guy.'"

The man was eventually taken away in a Boston Police cruiser. Pavlos said he would continue to represent the man and go with police to see where they took him.

The march wound through the streets of a city on high alert for fears of terrorism. The Secret Service has labeled the DNC a special security event, and police were extremely noticeable along the march.

Rows of officers in riot gear blocked off some buildings near the route, and a line of similarly dressed officers kept pace with the marchers. Two helicopters hovered relatively low over the scene. Aside from the detained man, there did not appear to be major scuffles.

The activists represented a variety of interests, from socialists and communists calling for a change in the social structure of the country, to those protesting the war in Iraq. Betsy Piette, of Philadelphia, said she had just returned from Colombia, where she said she witnessed the results of America's foreign policy.

"I saw 3 million displaced workers," she said.

Like others in the march, Piette said she sees little difference between Sen. John Kerry and President George W. Bush.

"We really need an independent voice," she said. "They have identical positions."

Carlo Ferany was marching with his wife and 6-year-old son. The Boston man emigrated from north Africa and said he was protesting against the country's spending priorities.

"I feel bad that the money is going to war instead of education for our kids," Ferany said.

As the marchers turned onto Congress Street, they were greeted by a group of anti-abortion protesters, who were staging a "die-in." The two groups did not interact.