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AFP News
12 March 2016
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Donald
Trump is under fire from rivals who blamed his incendiary rhetoric for a
violent outbreak Friday between protesters and supporters at the
Republican frontrunner's rally in Chicago.
Trump
cancelled the event after demonstrators scuffled with his supporters
and police struggled to maintain order, with hundreds of protesters
showing up.
"When
you have a campaign that affirmatively encourages violence, when you
have a campaign that is facing allegations of physical violence against
members of the press, you create an environment that only encourages
this sort of nasty discord," Trump's main rival for the Republican
nomination, Ted Cruz, told reporters.
Throngs
of protesters, many of them blacks and Latinos angered by Trump's
incendiary anti-immigrant rhetoric, had massed outside and inside the
venue in Chicago, mingling with the candidate's supporters.
Pundits
said the chaos at the rally was reminiscent of violent protests at the
1968 Democratic National Convention, also in Chicago, held when the
United States was torn apart by opposing views on the Vietnam War.
A
Trump rally scheduled for Sunday in Cincinnati, Ohio has also been
cancelled, with the local spokesman for the campaign telling US media
that Secret Service supporting the campaign could not complete
preparation work in time.
CNN estimated there were between 8,500 to 10,000 people in the arena in Chicago when tensions erupted into chaos.
The
billionaire said he decided to call off the gathering after consulting
with police in the city, where tensions had been rising for hours in the
build-up to the event at a sporting arena at the University of Illinois
at Chicago.
"I
don't want to see anybody hurt," Trump told CNN afterwards. "I think we
made the right decision (to cancel)... even though our freedom of
speech was violated."
The
chaos ended several hours later, but not before members of the crowd
threw bottles and other objects at officers, and several tried to take
the stage and speak at the podium.
One
sign held by a protester inside the arena said "We are not rapists,"
referring to Trump's characterization last year of Mexicans as rapists.
- 'Address the anger together' -
Police
made a total of five arrests and two officers were taken to area
hospitals after sustaining minor injuries, the Chicago Police Department
confirmed to AFP.
Critics
have accused Trump of fueling the toxic atmosphere. On February 1, as
protesters interrupted a rally in Iowa, he encouraged supporters to
"knock the crap out of them," and pledged to pay their legal fees.
When a protester disrupted Trump's speech in Las Vegas, the brash billionaire said he would like to "punch him in the face."
Trump dismissed the notion that he was responsible for whipping up tensions.
In
a statement, Trump's campaign said he had 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."
"Please go in peace," it added.
Trump's rivals framed the outbreak as at least partially caused by the frontrunner's incendiary rhetoric.
Candidate
John Kasich, also a Republican, said that "the seeds of division that
Donald Trump has been sowing this whole campaign finally bore fruit, and
it was ugly."
The
chaotic scenes come just days before the states of Florida, Ohio,
Illinois and Missouri vote in the party primaries on March 15.
Many
in the party see next Tuesday's votes as the last best chance to derail
the insurgent candidacy of the billionaire mogul, who has so far won 15
of 24 primary races.
The
sudden security concerns mark a major test for Trump as he seeks to
lock up the nomination and turn his attention to doing battle against
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner.
Clinton
was quick to strike out at Trump over the Chicago violence, releasing a
statement late Friday in which she said "we all have our differences,
and we know many people across the country feel angry. We need to
address that anger together."
After
rattling the Republican establishment with his shock emergence as the
man to beat, Trump has been working hard in recent days to look
presidential and shake off his brash, belligerent image.
But
Trump's rallies are known for being rambunctious, and that seeped over
into violence on Wednesday night in North Carolina when a 78-year-old
white man in a cowboy hat punched a black protester in the face.
Trump,
who is scheduled to hold a rally Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio, has
called on Republicans to amass behind him to propel him into the White
House.
