Trump blames Sanders supporters for Chicago unrest; protester tries to rush stage
Donald Trump on Saturday denounced the protests that led him to cancel a scheduled rally the previous night in Chicago, calling them "a planned attack" that was "professionally done" and blaming Bernie Sanders supporters for inciting violence.
Sanders, however, pushed back against Trump, calling on him to denounce violence at his rallies and labeling him a "pathological liar."
The accusations come on a day when Trump refused to apologize for his rhetoric at his rallies, one of which was interrupted when a man tried to rush the stage. Secret Service officers protected the GOP front-runner, who was unharmed.
Trump focused on Sanders in his comments about the protesters Friday night.
"Some represented Bernie, our communist friend," Trump said in Dayton, Ohio, his first campaign appearance since the Chicago event was postponed.
Later in the day, Trump said protesters at his Cleveland event are "Bernie's crowd."
"You know Bernie was saying Mr. Trump should speak to his crowd," Trump said. "You know where they come from? Bernie's crowd. They're Bernie's crowd."
And when a protester momentarily disrupted Trump's rally, the GOP front-runner again said the demonstrator was a "Bernie person."
"Get your people in line, Bernie," Trump said. He reiterated the claim at a rally in Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday night, when scores of protesters repeatedly disrupted his address.
At one point in Kansas City, Trump asked police to arrest the protesters.
"I'm going to ask that you arrest them. I'll file whatever charges you want. If they want to do this ... we're going to go strongly for your arrests," Trump said.
Trump said that arresting protesters would "ruin the rest of their lives" by giving them a "big arrest mark."
"Once that's starts happening, we're not going to have any more protesters, folks," Trump said.