A group of Iraq war veterans pleaded not guilty Monday to disorderly conduct charges stemming from protests held outside the presidential debate at Hofstra University last month.

The group, which calls itself the Hempstead 15, says it was protesting peacefully. Veteran Nick Morgan says he was kicked by a police horse and suffered a broken cheekbone during the protest.

?We backed up as fast as we physically could,? Morgan says, recalling the events of Oct. 15. ?There was about a couple hundred people behind us, but they brought out the horses and they were spinning the horses, kind of maliciously bumping into us."

Police say the veterans riled up a larger crowd of protesters and did not comply with officers? directions. The nature of Morgan?s injury is being investigated, according to police.

The veterans say they'll continue to fight the charges. A lawyer for the group says it may pursue a civil suit against the Nassau County Police Department.