NEW YORK—Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement Thursday condemning violence and urging its supporters to “respect the right to assemble and express their opinions.”

The statement, which came hours after a Trump rally in New York City, was released on behalf of Trump’s presidential campaign.

The statement says Trump and his campaign will not be participating in protests that target individuals because “these events have the potential to divide and silence the American people.”

The campaign said it will instead focus on “providing security for our campaign events.”

The Trump campaign has faced criticism over the weekend over its decision to hold a “free speech” rally in Manhattan’s Central Park.

The event attracted a smaller crowd than planned.

Trump’s campaign had initially planned for the rally to be held in the park, but he canceled the event on Sunday after receiving backlash.

In response, Trump said that the cancellation was a “bad move.”

“I think that was a bad move, and it was a terrible move, to cancel,” Trump said on Monday.

“And, you know, we will come back, and we will have a good rally, but we will not have a free speech rally.”

He added, “We’ll see what happens, but I’m not going to have a rally in Central Park, and I’m very disappointed in what happened there.”