CHICAGO — Donald Trump , the Republican presidential nominee front-runner, postponed his rally Friday night due to growing concerns over protesters at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"This is ridiculous," Tom Keevers, a Trump supporter from the city's North Side, said after the cancellation was announced over the loudspeaker. "I'm a conservative. You wouldn't see conservatives shutting down a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders rally!"
Trump never made it to the arena Friday night. He cited security concerns to explain the decision to cancel the rally, telling multiple news networks he found protesters to be violent.
Trump was asked to respond to criticisms about violent comments he's made on the campaign trail — saying an anti-Trump protester at another one of his rallies should have been "roughed up" — and how that compares to his claims that protesters are the violent ones.
“I certainly don’t incite violence," Trump told CNN's Don Lemon in a telephone interview.
“If a protester is swinging a fist at a man or a group of men, and if they end up going back, I’m not looking to do him any favors."
When organizers canceled the rally, hundreds of anti-Trump protesters cheered. The candidate's supporters screamed back "Trump!Trump! Trump!"
Police quickly cleared the arena, where thousands had gathered for the rally, while hundreds more protested outside.
The protesters chanted, and there appeared to be a few minor tussles between Trump supporters and the protesters.
Still, the fighting did not amount to the type of "chaos" and riots some media reports described, some said. Matthew Ross, a Chicago activist, said suggestions from Trump that protesters presented a security risk don't hold up.
"Have you seen what his supporters have incited at their rallies?" said Ross, who said he had water thrown at him by Trump supporter after it was announced that the rally was canceled. " I think what he (Trump) is doing is inciting violence."
Angelica Salazar, one of hundreds of protesters at the event, said that she did not feel unsafe.
"(Trump) felt us tonight and felt our power tonight," said Salazar, 30. Of West Chicago, Ill.
She said she came with friends to the protest to express her anger about his anti-immigrant rhetoric.
"He heard our voice tonight," she said.
Tensions flared in the days leading up to the rally, as students and faculty members signed a petition to stop the presidential hopeful's event. The petition garnered more than 50,000 signatures by Friday night.
Despite the mounting criticism, Chancellor Michael D. Amiridis said in a statement the university has no legal basis in barring any candidate from renting the event space.
UIC’s core values of freedom, equality and social justice for all, regardless of race, religion, national origin, disability status or sexual orientation, are deeply rooted in our diverse community and not endangered by the presence of any political candidate on campus. We encourage public and civic engagement by all members of our University and we endorse the idea that the answer to speech that one does not like or finds offensive is more speech and not censorship.
The Chicago Police Department did not have any immediate reports of arrests. Anthony Guglielmi, a department spokesman, said the Trump campaign did not consult the police department before canceling.
"They did not consult us at all," he said. "The decision was made by the campaign on its own."
USA TODAY
