Trump Rally Canceled On Fears Of Protests
CHICAGO (AP) — Republican Donald Trump's plans to promote his presidential candidacy at a Chicago rally ahead of the Illinois primary ended in chaos Friday after he canceled the event, citing safety concerns.
As Trump supporters walked through the anti-Trump crowd outside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion, many protesters chanted: "We stopped Trump! We stopped Trump!"
"Mr. Trump just arrived in Chicago and after meeting with law enforcement has determined 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," the Trump campaign said in a statement.
"We made a wise decision," Trump told CNN as pictures of the chaos moved across the screen of his supporters and demonstrators exchanging shoves and Chicago police wrestling with anti-Trump protesters a block from the arena.
Derrick Serianni, 42, said he drove for two yours from Chesterton, Indiana, to hear Trump speak. He said as he left the arena, he walked a gauntlet of protesters who yelled obscenities at him and called him a racist, but didn't touch him. He called them "very intimidating," adding that he "had a right to hear Trump speak."
One protester said she had little sympathy for the complaints of the Trump supporters.
"If you are going to support a divisive candidate, you're opening yourself up to that kind of thing," Karie Otteburn, 28, of Chicago.
Trump wasn't the only presidential hopeful in Chicago on Friday.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was addressing a closed-door, big-dollar Illinois Republican Party fundraiser at a Chicago hotel and a GOP dinner in Rolling Meadows.
Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders planned a campaign stop in the Chicago suburb of Summit.
The Vermont senator released three new TV ads in Illinois on Friday, including one that features Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who forced Chicago Rahm Emanuel into a runoff election for a second term last year. In another, Chicago Public Schools principal Troy LaRaviere, a frequent critic of Emanuel, says the mayor is to blame for the city's problems and that any candidate who backs him is "not willing to take on the establishment."
It's a clear swipe at Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who has strong ties to Emanuel. The mayor has faced calls to resign since the city delayed releasing dash-cam video of a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. Emanuel served as a top adviser in President Bill Clinton's White House, and he has endorsed Hillary Clinton.
Holding a get-out-the-vote rally Thursday night in the Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills, Clinton aimed most of her criticism at the Republican candidates, saying they're overly pessimistic and more focused on rhetoric than policy. The former secretary of state said people around the world "watch us so closely."
"I've been getting messages from a lot of leaders I know from around the world and their message basically is, 'What is happening?'" Clinton said, referring to the race for the GOP nomination.
Illinois Republicans will award 69 delegates in Tuesday's primary, with the winner of the statewide preference poll getting 15 delegates and the remaining elected from each congressional district.
On the Democratic side, Illinois awards 182 delegates, including 102 awarded proportionately within each congressional district, provided a candidate gets at least 15 percent of the vote.
But the biggest contests Tuesday will be in winner-take-all races in Ohio and Florida. Those are must-win races for Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich, who campaigned in Illinois on Wednesday, and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida. The two trail Trump and Cruz in delegates.
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