Eight family members who got involved in an Easter Sunday punch-up in Cospicua were marched to court on Saturday to face charges in a fight in which horse whips and a knife were used.
The eight, who all live on just two streets in the town and range in age from 18 to 59, allegedly assaulted various members of a different family who also live in the town.
Two of their alleged victims were grievously hurt in the Easter Sunday assault, with two others ending up slightly injured.
Carmelo Dalli, 59, Fredrick Dalli, 36, Charlston Cassar, 26, Lee Julian Cassar, 25, Josloann Cassar, 25, Redent Cassar, 24, Tristan Cassar, 22 and Kurt David Azzopardi, 18, all stand accused of having breached public peace, threatened and assaulted members of the Brincat family between 2.45pm and 4pm on Easter Sunday.
There was already bad blood between the families, with a court having ordered Lee Julian Cassar to stay away from one of the victims, Rodrick Brincat, in a sentence passed late last year.
Four of the accused were also charged with carrying a weapon without legitimate use. Redent Cassar was also charged with carrying an unlicensed knife and of breaching parole conditions.
All eight pleaded not guilty to the various charges they face.
Fredrick Dalli had been granted bail just last month in a separate case, while Charlston Cassar was also out on bail since January.
Prosecuting inspectors Oriana Spiteri and Eman Hayman asked the court to revoke bail for both those men and seize bail deposits of €6,000 and €20,000 respectively.
They also asked the court, presided by magistrate Monica Vella, to issue a protection order in favour of the Brincat family involved in the fight.
At one point commotion from the family members was heard outside the court room, prompting the magistrate to summon them inside the hall. She initially ordered them detained for one day, but revoked the order after they apologised to the court.
Carmelo Dalli, Josloann Cassar, Tristan Cassar and Kurt David Azzopardi were granted bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000. Bail was refused for the other four.
The other family is expected to be arraigned in the coming days.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi, Amadeus Cachia, Marion Camilleri and Mario Mifsud are counsel for the defence.