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A protester holds up a ripped campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump before a rally on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago, Friday, March 11, 2016, in Chicago.(Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast, AP)
CHICAGO —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Donald Trump, the GOP presidential<span style="color: Red;">*</span>front-runner, postponed his rally Friday night over security concerns after protesters and supporters clashed at the University of Illinois at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Chicago.
Chaos ensued after organizers announced the rally was canceled shortly after 6:30 p.m. at the UIC Pavillion. Police ejected at least a half dozen anti-Trump demonstrators, including one man who snuck on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>stage and approached the podium.
Chants of "Trump" and "Bernie" alike filled the arena as police dispersed the masses.
Joe Fritz, 20, who came to hear Trump speak, said a woman punched him as he stood in a crowd of protesters outside the arena<span style="color: Red;">*</span>after the rally was canceled.
Fritz said the woman landed a glancing blow to his chin after he questioned her for yelling epithets toward<span style="color: Red;">*</span>cops standing nearby and about Trump. Fritz said the woman was with a girl who was about 10.
"I told her, 'What kind of example are you setting?'" Fritz said.
Fritz said he and his friend were then surrounded by other anti-Trump protesters who screamed at them before police pulled them out of the crowd.
A demonstrator is removed by Chicago police during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion in Chicago on Friday, March 11, 2016.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Chris Sweda, AP)
Still, the scuffles were brief, and some protesters said the security concerns were overstated.
"(Trump) felt us tonight and felt our power tonight," said Angelica Salazar, 30, of West Chicago, Ill. Salazar, who went to speak out against Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric, said she did not feel unsafe.
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Matthew Ross, a Chicago activist, said suggestions from Trump that protesters presented a security risk don't hold up.
"Have you seen what his supporters have incited at their rallies?" said Ross, who said he had water thrown at him by Trump supporter after it was announced that the rally was canceled. " I think what he (Trump) is doing is inciting violence."
The Chicago Police Department said late Friday that four men and a woman were arrested at the rally. Police officials did not detail charges or release names of the individuals taken into custody.However, CBS News said its reporter, Sopan Deb, was detained by law enforcement while covering the scene.
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Anthony Guglielmi, a police department spokesman, said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Trump campaign did not consult the police department before canceling.
"They did not consult us at all," he said. "The decision was made by the campaign on its own."
While many dispersed after the rally was canceled, hundreds of people protested outside. They chanted and cheered, as supporters screamed back "Trump! Trump! Trump!"
Trump never made it there, citing security concerns in interviews with multiple news networks. He described anti-Trump protesters, including those at previous rallies, as violent.
"I just don't want people hurt," he told MSNBC.
Trump has faced criticism about violent comments he and his supporters have made on the campaign trail. When attendees at an event in November kicked a Black Lives Matter activist, Trump said, "Maybe he should have been roughed up," according to The Washington Post. Another supporter, John McGraw, sucker-punched a protester at a rally Wednesday in North Carolina. McGraw later said, "we might have to kill him" next time the protester shows up.
When asked about violence among his supporters, Trump insisted that anti-Trump demonstrators were instigating<span style="color: Red;">*</span>incidents at his campaign events.
“I certainly don’t incite violence," Trump said,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>echoing his words at Thursday night's GOP debate,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when he said he hoped he wasn't encouraging violence at his rallies.
“If a protester is swinging a fist at a man or a group of men, and if they end up going back," he added, "I’m not looking to do him any favors."
Sen. Ted Cruz, who is Trump's closest rival in the race for the Republican nomination, took aim at Trump on Friday, and noted that "in any campaign responsibility starts at the top."
"When the candidate urges supporters to engage in physical violence, to punch people in the face, the predictable consequence of that is that it escalates," Cruz told reporters. "Today is unlikely to be the last such incidence."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump points to balcony where protesters were causing a disturbance during a campaign rally Friday, March 11, 2016, in St. Louis.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Seth Perlman, AP)
Fellow GOP candidate John Kasich said Friday's events were the result of Trump sowing "seeds of division."
"Some let their opposition to his views slip beyond protest into violence, but we can never let that happen," the Ohio governor said in a statement.
Sen. Marco Rubio raised similar concerns<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about Trump's language at his rallies.
"There is only one presidential candidate who has violence at his events," Rubio told reporters.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I do<span style="color: Red;">*</span>think that Donald needs to realize and take responsibility for the fact that some of the rhetoric he has used could be contributing to this environment that is growing increasingly disturbing for a number of Americans."
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton said the "divisive rhetoric" of the Trump campaign should be of "grave concern."
"We all have our differences, and we know many people across the country feel angry," Clinton said in a statement. "We need to address that anger together."
An activist is removed by police after it was announced that a rally with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the University of Illinois at Chicago would be postponed on Friday, March 11, 2016 in Chicago.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)
Tensions flared in the days leading up to the rally, as students and faculty members signed a petition to stop the presidential hopeful's event. The petition garnered more than 50,000 signatures by Friday night.
Despite the mounting criticism,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Chancellor Michael D. Amiridis said in a statement the university has no legal basis in barring any candidate from renting the event space.
UIC’s core values of freedom, equality and social justice for all, regardless of race, religion, national origin, disability status or sexual orientation, are deeply rooted in our diverse community and not endangered by the presence of any political candidate on campus. We encourage public and civic engagement by all members of our University and we endorse the idea that the answer to speech that one does not like or finds offensive is more speech and not censorship.Attendees complained about the demonstrations that halted the event, suggesting they blocked Trump's right to free speech.
"This is ridiculous," Tom Keevers, a Trump supporter from the city's North Side, said after the cancellation was announced over the loudspeaker. "I'm a conservative. You wouldn't see conservatives shutting down a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders rally!"
Trump officials announced on Friday that the campaign has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>scrapped plans, at least for now, for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a rally in downtown Cincinnati<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on Sunday afternoon. He still has several rallies on his schedule for this weekend and into next week, including stops in Dayton, Cleveland, Bloomington, Ill., Kansas City, Mo., and Boca Raton, Fla.
The Secret Service security supporting the GOP presidential front<span style="color: Red;">*</span>runner's campaign could not complete its preparation work in time to hold the event at the Duke Energy Convention Center, said Eric Deters,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a local<span style="color: Red;">*</span>spokesman for Trump's campaign.
"Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wants to come here,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and the campaign is still looking to find a location for either Sunday or Monday," Deters said.
Contributing: Jessica Estepa and Jason Williams
Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Aamer Madhani on Twitter:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>@AamerISmad
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