Trump's rally called off amid violence

Donald Trump is under fire from rivals who blamed his incendiary rhetoric for a violent outbreak Friday between protestors and supporters at the Republican frontrunner's rally in Chicago.

A woman holds a banner protesting the GOP frontrunner's anti-immigrant stance. Photo: AFP

Trump cancelled the event after demonstrators scuffled with his supporters and police struggled to maintain order, with hundreds of protesters showing up.

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.

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.