Beto O 'Rourke defends Pete Buttigieg against anti-gay protesters in Texas

"Texans do not support this kind of homophobia and hatred. Mayor Pete, we are grateful to you for coming to Texas and hope to see you again soon, as well as Chasten," wrote on Twitter Twitter O & Rourke, a former congressman.

Mr Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, in Indiana, spoke Friday at the Dallas County Democratic Dinner when his speech was interrupted at least four times by a group of protesters.

One of them shouted: "Marriage is a man and a woman". Another shouted, "Repent".

Spectators applauded the protests and chanted "Pete" to cover the demonstrators, who were eventually escorted out of the room by security.

"I'm just thinking about this writing that says bless and do not curse," said Buttigieg, who spoke openly about his episcopal faith after one of the interruptions.

He also stated that his service in Afghanistan was aimed at "defending the freedom of expression of this gentleman", referring to one of the protesters who interrupted him.

This is not the first time Buttigieg has come up against anti-gay protesters – he has also been heckled by anti-gay chants at two campaign events in Iowa last month.

Buttigieg was released in 2015, a few months before he was re-elected mayor of South Bend. If he was elected, he would be the first American married and gay president.

Christian Sierra from CNN contributed to this report.