Towards the end of his speech late Monday afternoon at the Peoria Civic Center Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was interrupted by a protester carrying a Donald Trump sign who yelled multiple times “Go back to Canada” at the leading opposition candidate to Trump..

Cruz told the man that he appreciated his being there and his freedom of speech and told the birther protester “You see sir one difference between this and a Donald Trump rally is I am not asking anyone to punch you in the face.”

Security escorted the man from the event.

The Trump protesters outburst drew massive boos from the more than 2,000 people who came to the event the 3rd of 5 Cruz is doing in Illinois ahead of Tuesday’s primary .

Trump’s comments on the campaign trail questioning Cruz’s eligibility to be President has prompted birthers across the country to launch legal challenges to Cruz’s ability to appear on various state ballots. Twice prominent birther Lawerence Joyce of Poplar Grove, IL tried to get Cruz kicked off the ballot in Illinois first having his challenge totally rejected by the Illinois State Board of Elections, and then having a lawsuit he brought in Cook county court seeking to have that determination reversed was tossed out.