Michelle O’Neill has said she is comfortable with her choice to protest against an Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road on Sunday.

The Sinn Féin first minister attended the protest that blocked the mainly nationalist road to prevent the parade from happening.

On Wednesday, the PSNI chief constable said there was a large scale criminal investigation under way into the unlawful blocking of Garvaghy Road.

O’Neill said she understands the law, but chose to “stand in solidarity” with residents.

“I believe the right thing is to stand on this road,” she said. “What we can’t see on this road is the return of a triumphalist march that railroads over the rights of this community.”

Earlier, Northern Ireland’s top police officer Jon Boutcher said the force’s “principle objective” is to police the decision to allow a parade down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, but added this would not be done “at any cost”.

He said the overriding responsibility of police was to keep people safe.

There has been more than three days of stalemate over the Orange Order parade.

Unionist politicians have been highly critical of nationalist politicians from Sinn Féin and the SDLP who attended Sunday’s protest.

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Gavin Robinson said those in attendance had broken the law.

He met with Boutcher at PSNI headquarters on Wednesday afternoon and speaking afterwards he said the “law applies equally and to everyone”.

“We have given him our expectation that within days, if not a week, we need to see the positive out workings of that,” he added.

“The rule of law pertains and sustains in our society, that it is not going to be set aside for anyone, no matter who they are.”