Glenn Beck arrives at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon on Saturday to receive the key to the city from Mayor Bud Norris.

One protester was arrested Saturday evening as the crowd surged outside McIntyre Hall, where Beck received a key to the city from Mayor Bud Norris at a sold-out, private event.

Protester Maggie Taylor of Bellingham joins protesters lining College Way in Mount Vernon.

But Beck was received warmly by supporters inside McIntyre Hall. Mayor Norris, who weeks earlier proclaimed Saturday "Glenn Beck Day" as a way to mark the conservative commentator's success as a nationally known broadcaster, introduced Beck and handed over the key.

Beck spoke for about an hour, remembering his childhood in Mount Vernon, which he described as well-connected to the values of Norman Rockwell's small-town America. He cried as he reminisced about going to the local theater with his mother.

"Now, I would give my right arm to live in a town like Mount Vernon. And I discovered today that there are a ton of people ready to cut it off," he said Saturday, jokingly referring to protesters gathered nearby. "It doesn't bother me, because I have the key to their house now."

Protesters started gathering outside the building more than two hours before Beck's 7:30 p.m. appearance. By the time he spoke inside the building, some 800 people were gathered outside - some from as far away as Oregon.

It was the largest protest in living memory in the town of Mount Vernon, population 31,000, an agricultural center for the Skagit Valley.

Anti-Beck protesters were cordoned off to the east, while pro-Beck supporters were funneled to the west, with barricades placed between them. But many of them still managed to debate one another across the barrier.

Beck arrived at about 6 p.m. in a black Chevy Silverado, according to a Twitter feed from the Skagit County Herald.

Meanwhile, an airplane circled overhead with a banner saying, "Change the Locks," and cars and trucks circled up and down the nearby streets.

Protest planners say they are angry about Beck's stance on immigration, 9-11 victims - and for calling Obama a racist. They say Beck should not be given a key to the city.

But Beck supporters say the mayor can do what he wants, since Beck grew up in Mount Vernon and deserves the honor.

The city is definitely divided - the City Council passed a resolution saying, "Mount Vernon City Council is in no way sponsoring the mayor's event on Sept. 26, 2009, and is not connected to the Glenn Beck event in any manner."

In addition, the local chapter of the NAACP filed a protest with Mayor Norris, saying, "(His) ideology is inflammatory and insulting to many of your own constituents."

An enthusiastic crowd of 7,000 supporters greeted Glenn Beck at a Safeco Field event in Seattle on Saturday afternoon.

The enthusiastic Safeco Field crowd greeted Beck on Saturday afternoon in Seattle, where his message and brand of journalism resonated with supporters.

"We watch him all the time ... found a common voice," said one participant among the crowd of thousands.

The "Take The Field With Glenn Beck" event had such a big turnout that organizers had to open another section of the stadium so more seats would be available.

Outside Safeco Field, a group of about 30 protesters expressed their displeasure with Beck for calling President Obama a racist who hates white people.

One protester, Don Sly of Seattle, held a tongue-in-cheek sign that said: "Sure he's an idiot bigot, but he's our idiot bigot."