Chaos erupted at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Vermont on Thursday, as protesters repeatedly interrupted the GOP front-runner and clashed with his supporters both inside and outside of the event.

Trump was welcomed by a swarm of supporters and protesters at the rally, which was held in the historically left-leaning state of Vermont, just blocks away from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' headquarters.

Thousands lined up to attend the event, after the Trump campaign distributed 20,000 free tickets, despite the fact that the auditorium contained only 1,400 seats, reports NBC News.

Before the event began, Sanders' supporters and anti-Trump protesters both made their presence known with their signs and chants. Some protesters even managed to make it inside of the event, in spite of efforts by Trump's campaign staff to screen attendees who did not pledge their support.

At one point, a group of demonstrators moved toward the stage with a "dump Trump" sign before being escorted out. At another point, those backing the billionaire businessman tried to drown out protesters by booing and chanting "Trump."

In the beginning, Trump seemed to embrace the disruptions, asking the crowd, "Isn't this more exciting?" reports The Associated Press.

However, he later appeared to become frustrated by the disruptions and urged security to move faster to remove hecklers.

"We've got to get the security moving a little bit faster here," he said.

"This is why we're losing control of our country. This is why. We lose control of our country 'cause everybody's afraid to do anything," he added. "They're afraid to lose their jobs."

He also suggested that his security staffers confiscate protesters' coats as they continued to interrupt him throughout his remarks.

"Keep his coat! Confiscate his coat! You know it's about 10 degrees below zero outside," he called from the stage. "You can keep his coat. Tell him we'll send it to him in a couple of weeks."

During the rally, Trump spoke about his plans to protect the Second Amendment and vowed to ban gun-free zones on military bases and schools on his first day in office in the White House.

"I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools and - you have to - and on military bases, my first day, it gets signed, OK? My first day," he said. "We need our guns."