Some 300 white supremacists staged "White Lives Matter" rallies in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro on Saturday.
There were about the same number of counter-protestors, and police fenced off the two groups.
Those seeking to enter one section or the other were searched for possible weapons.
Only one person was arrested.
Senator Lamar Alexander said, “While the Constitution gives everyone the right to assemble, the Constitution makes it absolutely clear that we are all Americans without regard to race.
"The views of the white nationalists, Nazis, white supremacists and the Klan are wrong, they are un-American, they are not welcome, and we need to be loud and clear about that.”