Photos From The Canceled Donald Trump Rally

Chicago supporters of GOP front-runner Donald Trump were blindsided when a campaign stop at the University of Illinois at Chicago was canceled due to security threats. The Donald's camp claimed that they had decided to call off the event on Friday night after consulting with law enforcement. The presidential hopeful's rallies have been the subject of much ire, and tensions had been mounting at every campaign stop, it seems. Photos from the canceled Donald Trump rally illustrate the tense environment surrounding the Chicago event that never was.

Hundreds of protestors packed in and around the venue, with many others demonstrating in front of Trump Tower just four miles away, near the Magnificent Mile. The Chicago Trump property has seen waves of activity over the course of the Donald's candidacy, as SEIU window washers have repeatedly demonstrated in front of the building, calling for better, more livable wages. Given the city's apparent tenuous relationship with Trump, it comes as little surprise that activists would be ready and waiting prior to the rally. What unfolded on Friday night was a series of protests and demonstrations that sadly culminated in violent outbursts leading to the cancellation. Both Trump supporters and anti-Trump activists are clearly angry to the point tensions of simply boiling over.

Photos from the canceled Trump rally on social media similarly illustrate the tense environment surrounding the failed event. The rally shutdown comes in the wake of rampant violence at previous Trump rallies, to the point that the candidate was finally confronted with the problem in a GOP debate on CNN earlier this week. Though the Donald made it clear he doesn't stand for violence against his supporters, he certainly appeared to have a lot of excuses for his audience's own outrage. Trump had this to say to Jake Tapper about the rash of conflict at his campaign events:

But when they see what's going on in this country, they have anger that's unbelievable. They have anger. They love this country. They don't like seeing bad trade deals, they don't like seeing higher taxes, they don't like seeing a loss of their jobs where our jobs have just been devastated. And I know — I mean, I see it. There is some anger. There's also great love for the country. It's a beautiful thing in many respects. But I certainly do not condone that at all.

Trump soldiered on in his quest for the presidency despite the cancellation in Chicago, however. He appeared at a rally just outside of Dayton, Ohio, the following day and further addressed the incident onstage by asking that security just "throw [the demonstrators] the hell out" the next time such an interruption or demonstration is staged. The statement does little to address the root of protestors' concerns, and it certainly negates Trump's promise to tone down his language. For all the impact that Chicago has made around the country, it appears to have done little to slow down the Trump campaign.