Chris Mueller

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

ROTHSCHILD - Republican front-runner Donald Trump may have a drawn a big crowd Saturday in Rothschild, but most of the people who showed up never got inside to see him.

Trump talked for about about an hour to a crowd of at least 1,700 people at a town-hall style event inside the Central Wisconsin Convention and Expo Center at the Cedar Creek Mall in Rothschild, but an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 more people were turned away when the hall reached capacity, said Rothschild Police Capt. Kevin Ostrowski.

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Trump commented on the size of the crowd, including the people left waiting outside, during his speech by getting those gathered inside to yell, “We love you over there,” to everyone left waiting outside the event.

“But you wouldn’t swap seats, I guarantee you that,” he said.

Rothschild Police Chief Jeremy Hunt said the crowd was unlike any he has seen before in the village, which is located a few miles south of Wausau.

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“It was an amount of people we’ve never seen before in this area in a single location,” he said.

No serious incidents or traffic crashes were reported, despite the size of the crowd, Hunt said.

“Everybody was very orderly,” he said. “Everyone got along on either side.”

Trump’s rallies have been frequently criticized for violent incidents, including one in Janesville where a teenage girl was pepper-sprayed after striking another bystander.

Chris Mueller: 715-345-2251 or christopher.mueller@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter@AtChrisMueller.