Reublican presidential frontrunner
Donald Trump canceled his Friday night rally at the
University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion due to security concerns, including thousands of protesters who gathered outside.
Inside
the arena, an announcement was made that Trump, upon arriving in
Chicago, met with law enforcement officials and that due to protesters
who had gathered "in and out of the arena, tonight's rally will be
postponed until another day."
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Earlier,
several protesters were removed from the arena. One section appeared to
be filled with youths protesting his appearance, a majority of them
African American, Latino, Arab American and Asian American.
Before the official who announced the cancelation
took the stage, a woman protester shouted, "F--- Trump" while holding a
"No Hate" sign. People in the upper balcony threw debris at her.
Outside
Donald Trump's rally Friday at the University of Illinois at Chicago,
protesters chanted "Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Donald Trump has got to go."
A
few Trump backers lashed back at demonstrators, shouting, "Build the
wall!" a reference to Trump's pledge to build a wall on the Mexican
border — and have Mexico pay for it.
While emotions ran high
outside the UIC Pavilion where Trump was slated to speak, a phalanx of
Chicago police officers ensured that Trump's fans and foes were kept on
opposite sides of Harrison Street to keep the war of words from
escalating into something worse.
Thousands turned out to see Trump, while outside the pavilion thousands of demonstrators had gathered.
Diane
Szafranski, a 48-year-old homemaker from Cary, brought her daughter,
Caitlin, 10, to see Trump. She said she had no problem with Trump's past
controversial statements.
"He's not politically correct," Szafranski said. "He's not taking any crap from anybody, which I love.
"He's self-funding," Szafranski said. "He's not relying on the lobbyists. He's not going to owe anybody."
"I
love him, he's awesome," Szafranski's daughter said. "He wants to get
rid of ISIS (the Islamic State), he wants to build a wall to help our
country."
One Trump backer, Jeff Black, handed out anti-Hillary Clinton
buttons reading "Hillary for prison." Black, who lives in Summit, said
he brought 200 of them to distribute.
Trump's visit before
Tuesday's presidential primary in Illinois raised concerns on campus,
with dozens of UIC faculty and staff signing a petition begun by a
student leader asking how security would be handled and who would pay
for it. More than 40,000 people signed it.
A 24-hour vigil leading up to Trump's campaign stop and organized by Latino community leaders began late Thursday.
Chicagoan
and paramedic Deirdre Fennessy held up a sign with a swastika that
replaced the "U" in the Republican presidential front-runner's name.
"Chicagoans don't want him here," Fennessy said.
"We're
not paying attention to them," said a Trump supporter from Villa Park
who gave his name as "Tony" and said he immigrated from Italy 40 years
ago. He praised the hotel magnate's "management skills."
Most
people who turned out for Trump were white. Farice Campbell, a
21-year-old African-American man from Chicago, said he came out of
curiosity, and to see Trump supporters up close.
"We came to see in real life how this all plays out, and the reasons to support Trump," Campbell said.
With him was 18-year-old Portia Torrens, of Oswego, who is also black.
"This is a huge part of history," she said. "It's good to be a part of it."
kskiba@tribpub.com
geoffz@tribpub.com
@Katherine Skiba
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