Trump cancels Chicago rally amid protests, violence

The cancellation came not long before the Republican front-runner was expected to appear before a crowd of 8,500 people.

“Mr. Trump just arrived at Chicago, and after meeting with law enforcement has determined that for the safety of all the tens of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena tonight, tonight’s rally will be postponed until another day. Thank you very much for your attendance and please go in peace,” a spokesman told the audience.

Hundreds of protesters had infiltrated the event and waited for Trump to take the stage, while thousands gathered outside the University of Illinois’ Chicago Pavilion arena.

After the the cancellation was announced, protesters in the audience could be heard chanting the name of Bernie Sanders, a Democratic candidate for president. In response, Trump supporters began yelling Trump’s name.

The protesters started holding up Sanders signs and began getting into scuffles. One black protester was forcibly removed from the stage.

After the crowd was dispersed from the arena, large groups of protesters remained gathered just outside.

Hundreds of police officers showed up for crowd control.

Chicago police said that five people were arrested Friday evening, and two officers were hurt.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel applauded the city’s police department Friday night for helping to protect citizens during protests.

“I want to thank the men and women of the Chicago Police Department for their hard work tonight in unexpected circumstances, and their continued commitment to protecting people’s first amendment rights,” Emanuel said in a statement. “For all of us who cherish the ideals upon which our country was founded, the hateful, divisive rhetoric that pits Americans against each other demeans our democratic values and diminishes our democratic process.”

Speaking on a number of news programs after the cancellation, Trump said he was disappointed that he had to shut down the event, but felt that he made the right decision.

“It’s a little bit sad when you cant have a rally in a major city in this country,” said Trump in a phone interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews about 30 minutes after the event was cancelled. “What ever happened to freedom of speech?”

“For the benefit of safety — I don’t want to see anybody hurt — I cancelled this event tonight,” he added.

Speaking on CNN, Trump deflected the blame onto the protests and indicated that he is unaware of any violent altercations at his campaign events.

“I don’t take responsibility,” Trump said, adding “nobody’s been hurt at our rallies.”

During another phone conversation with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, Trump defended his campaign, saying the protests were directed largely at the economic problems of the U.S.

When asked if the chaos and ensuing news coverage would have any negative impact on his chances of winning Illinois’ primary on Tuesday, Trump remained confident of his chances.

“I think we’re going to do well,” he said.

On whether he plans to hold another rally in Chicago, Trump later told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, “We’ll do it another time.”

Though Trump told Hannity that he spoke with law enforcement and said he was advised not to follow through with the event, CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the AP it never warned Trump’s team of a security threat. Instead, CPD said police had the manpower to deal with any situation that arose.

A number of rival candidates took the opportunity to chide Trump after news of the chaos in Chicago broke.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the candidate closest to Trump in the GOP delegate count, said the businessman ‘bears responsibility’ for cancelled rally.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said that while the protesters went too far, Trump shares responsibility for “the general tone” of his campaign, mentioning previous controversial statements from the media mogul.

On social media, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont, also took at shot at Trump. “We will continue to bring people together. We will not allow the Donald Trumps of the world to divide us up,” he tweeted from his official campaign Twitter account.

Hillary Clinton later responded to the protest on Twitter, saying “Violence has no place in our politics. We should use our words and deeds to bring Americans together.”

All day long Friday, local news stations in Chicago reported that advocacy groups in Chicago would be holding demonstrations outside of the event.

In a message from MoveOn.org, a progressive political advocacy group, Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, responded to news of the postponement of Donald Trump’s rally, saying that Trump, with his “hate-filled rhetoric,” should be “on notice.”

“Mr. Trump and the Republican leaders who support him and his hate-filled rhetoric should be on notice after tonight’s events. These protests are a direct result of the violence that has occurred at Trump rallies and that has been encouraged by Trump himself from the stage,” said Sheyman. “Our country is better than the shameful, dangerous, and bigoted rhetoric that has been the hallmark of the Trump campaign. To all of those who took to the streets of Chicago, we say thank you for standing up and saying enough is enough. To Donald Trump, and the GOP, we say, welcome to the general election. Trump and those who peddle hate and incite violence have no place in our politics and most certainly do not belong in the White House.”

The cancellation comes at the end of a week fraught with the culmination of problems at Trump’s rallies.

Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski allegedly threw a reporter to the ground after Tuesday’s press conference in Jupiter, Fla., and a Trump supporter was indicted for punching a protester at rally in January.

A video posted to Twitter earlier on Friday shows a protester emerging from a Donald Trump campaign rally in St. Louis, Mo., covered in blood while being escorted by police to an on-site ambulance. Thirty people were arrested at that event, Fox News reported.