DONALD Trump’s Republican rivals have condemned protests that shut down his planned Chicago rally, but added that his incendiary speeches were partly to blame.

In statements to the press, candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both called the incident “sad” and said the people who chanted anti-Trump slogans and scuffled with Trump’s fans inside a stadium at the University of Illinois should have respected the candidate and let the rally happen.

But they added that Trump shared some responsibility.
Police break up skirmishes between demonstrators and supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Trump has drawn fervent support as well as harsh criticism for his calls to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and to impose a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.

His rallies often attract small groups of protesters, but Friday’s was the first at which there may have been as many protesters as supporters.

The two sides shouted at each other until a Trump campaign staffer appeared and announced the event would be put off until an unspecified date for security reasons. The cancellation followed an appearance by Trump in St. Louis, Missouri earlier on Friday during which protests forced the front-runner to halt his speech repeatedly.
“Go home to mommy,” Trump said as security personnel ejected one of the protesters in St. Louis.
“When you have a campaign that affirmatively encourages violence,” Cruz, the Texas senator, said, “you create an environment that only encourages this sort of nasty discourse.”

But Cruz has already copped backlash for his comments with some of his supporters saying they are now switching to Trump.

In Chicago a group of protesters gathered nearby clashed with police when they tried to shut down an expressway, a Chicago Police Department spokesman said.

Two police officers were injured; one required stitches, according to the spokesman. A reporter for CBS News was arrested and later released, according to media reports.

Violence outside the rally continued after it was clear Trump was not going to appear.

One attendee at the rally gave a first hand account of what it was like to be in the crowd.

“I feel that I experienced today, for the first time in my life, true totalitarianism and authoritarianism, expressed laterally from citizen to citizen, in order to silence opinions from being shared. This enforcement was shared through sheer numbers and intimidation, and in a few cases, violence,” the attendee wrote on Reddit.

“I feel a sense of utter dread and hopelessness for what is becoming of the youth in this country, particularly those of the regressive left. So polarised has political opinion become, that dissenting thoughts on college campuses are now seen as hateful.

“These people deal in absolutes. They are right, and whatever means they must take to achieve their ends, they will do it. They will not stop themselves from violence or censorship. They will do it, and they will call hell down upon you if anyone dare does upon them the same.”

Trump has a significant lead in primary contests over the three remaining Republicans vying for the White House, and he is looking to cement it on Tuesday when voters in five more states, including Illinois, go to the polls.

Ohio Governor John Kasich, also battling Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, said the protests occurred because “the seeds of division that Donald Trump has been sowing this whole campaign finally bore fruit.” Rubio, the Florida senator, had the harshest words for the protesters. He said in a Fox News interview protests in Chicago had become “an industry” and some of the people involved were “probably being paid to do this.”

Trump was forced to cancel the Chicago rally due to safety concerns after protesters packed into the arena where it was to take place.

A Trump campaign staffer took the stage nearly half an hour after the rally was slated to begin on Friday night local time and said it would be postponed for safety reasons.

The announcement that the billionaire businessman would postpone the rally until another day led a large portion of the crowd inside the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC ) Pavilion to break out into raucous cheers.

In a statement Trump said that “for the safety of all of the tens of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena, tonight’s rally will be postponed to another date”.

CNN estimated there were between 8500 to 10,000 people in the arena when tensions erupted into chaos.
An activist is removed by police after it was announced that the Chicago rally was cancelled.

A video posted on social media shows protesters inside the venue chanting “We stopped Trump”.

News footage showed police wearing body armour escorting groups of people out of the building, as scuffles and angry confrontations broke out throughout the building between Trump supporters and protesters.

An image tweeted by CBS Chicago showed a bloodied police officer being helped away from the chaotic scenes outside the university.

Meanwhile, supporters of the candidate started chanting “We want Trump! We want Trump!” There were physical confrontations between some members of the crowd after the event was cancelled.

There was no sign of Trump inside the arena on the college campus, where dozens of UIC faculty and staff had petitioned university administrators to cancel the rally.
Chicago police start to clear the crowd after the rally is called off.

They cited concerns it would create a “hostile and physically dangerous environment” for students.

Before the announcement the event wouldn’t take place, a handful of intense verbal clashes took place between Trump supporters and protesters as the crowd waited for his arrival.

For the first time during his White House bid, the crowd appeared to be an equal mix of those eager to cheer on the real estate mogul and those overtly opposed to his candidacy.

When one African American protester was escorted out before the event started, the crowd erupted into chants of “Let them stay!”.

Veronica Kowalkowsky, an 18-year-old Trump supporter, said before the event started that she had no ill will toward the protesters - but didn’t think they felt the same way.

“I feel a lot of hate,” she said.

“I haven’t said anything bad to anyone.”
A protester holds up a ripped campaign sign for Donald Trump before the rally on the campus of the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Trump backers were separated from an equally large crowd of anti-Trump protesters by a heavy police presence and barricades.

Some Trump supporters walking into the area chanted, “USA! USA!” and “Illegal is illegal.” One demonstrator shouted back, “Racist!”.

Chicago community activist Quo Vadis said hundreds of protesters had positioned themselves in groups around the arena, and that they intend to demonstrate right after Trump takes the stage. Their goal, he said, is “for Donald to take the stage and to completely interrupt him. The plan is to shut Donald Trump all the way down.”

The cancellation comes as images of his supporters attacking protesters and allegations that he’s inciting violence are raising new questions about the divisive nature of his campaign.

If I was an american I think I would be very worried that an imbecile like Trump could possibly become the leader of my country, and yes I too would take to the streets if necessary to try to prevent same. No violence, peaceful protest. Looking at the usual suspects supporting Trump in this thread(under the pretext of condemning the left) surely you are joking!

.............Crowd yells "bugger Trump" .............