Donald Trump has cancelled a rally in Chicago after violent protests erupted against the Republican front-runner for the US presidency
Hundreds of people gathered at the University of Illinois only hours before Trump was set to make an appearance there. Inside the auditorium, violence broke out between protesters and supporters, both chanting and waving flags.
A statement released by Donald Trump’s Chicago campaign revealed that the appearance was cancelled after consulting the police department. But a spokesman for the police department said that they had not advised Mr. Trump to cancel the rally.
Violence erupted around half an hour before the rally was supposed to take place. Fighting between the two groups continued even after the cancellation of the event was announced.
Mr. Trump’s supporters were chanting on his behalf while some of the protesters were chanting for the Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. The Chicago violence started when supporters of Donald Trump tried to snatch flags from the protestors. One of the protestors was forcibly removed from the stage by a Secret Service agent.
Fighting was also seen outside the venue where situation turned more chaotic as policemen tried to control large gatherings. One of the protesters told a local newspaper that they had scored a victory against Trump. He also thanked everyone for showing up at the scene.
A comprehensive statement from Donald Trump’s campaign stated that Mr. Trump have had a meeting with police department officials after which the event was cancelled keeping in mind the security of hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered at the arena.
The event will be scheduled to another date. Speaking to a news channel, Donald Trump said that he had never used a hate speech and he had no part in dividing the American society. He said:
“I represent a large group of people that have a lot of anger,” he said. “There is tremendous anger out there on both sides.”
Donald Trump also defended the decision to cancel the event by saying that it was a very intelligent decision. The protestors had apparently planned the disruption days in advance, and they seemed to have succeeded.
Both sides seemed really angry. Several supporters of Donald Trump are disenfranchised with the politicians who, in their opinion’ have failed to represent them. The protesters, on the other hand, deem Mr. Trump’s campaign as divisive and racist.
Donald Trump’s rivals within the Republican Party have called it a very sad incident. These clashes came only a day after supporters of Mr. Trump were accused of assaulting a protester in a rally in North Carolina.
