In a move they warned Canadian “Freedom Convoy” protesters about Wednesday, Ottawa Police officers began arresting protesters and towing vehicles en masse Friday morning. Police arrested key protest leaders Tamara Lich and Christopher Barber Thursday night. The two protest leaders were due in court Friday for charges including mischief and obstructing police. Ottawa Police also sealed off much of the downtown area Thursday night.
“We do not take this decision lightly, we know this will impact the residents. Please bear with us while we work to return the city to a state of normalcy” Interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell said in a statement. “We want to reassure everyone that if you live, work or have a reason to be in the area that your access will be minimally impacted.”
On Friday, hundreds of officers, some in riot gear and some carrying automatic weapons, descended into the protest zone, leading demonstrators away in handcuffs. Police smashed through the door of at least one RV camper before hauling it away. Hours into the show of force, authorities gave no estimate of the number of arrests or any injuries. Some protesters remained defiant.
“I’m willing to take it all the way, and by all the way, I mean, dropping to my knees, putting up a peace sign and they’ll, they’ll have to remove me at that point,” protester Jeromy Glass said. “I don’t want to get arrested today because I want to be able to continue fighting my fight.”
Ottawa Police began arresting protesters days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act, which gave law enforcement extraordinary authority to do the following:
- Declare “freedom convoy” blockades illegal and break them up (as done at border crossings in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba)
- Compel tow truck companies to tow away vehicles
- Arrest protesters
- Suspend drivers’ licenses
- Freeze drivers’ bank accounts
“There is a bit of fear in here, people are here for good reasons,” Glass said. “They’ve come from all across the country. Some of them have nothing to lose, you know. It’s just where do they go from here?”
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