Police began arresting protesters on Friday in an attempt to end a three-week traffic jam in Canada’s capital caused by hundreds of truckers angry about the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Officers were seen going door to door along a line of trucks, campers, and other vehicles parked on Ottawa’s snow-covered streets, some carrying automatic weapons and wearing tactical unit uniforms.
According to the police, some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody. Some people were seen in handcuffs being led away. A sign reading “Mandate Freedom” was carried by one of the people being escorted away.
Late Thursday, police took their first move to terminate the occupation by arresting two prominent protest organizers. Outsiders were also barred from much of the downtown area to prevent them from assisting the self-styled Freedom Convoy protesters.
After three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the United States, caused economic damage to both countries, and created a political crisis for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the capital was the movement’s last stronghold.
Authorities have been hesitant to take action against many of the protesters across the country in recent weeks, partly due to fear of violence. Right-wing extremists and veterans, some armed, have attended the protests.
With police and the government under fire for allegedly allowing the protests to grow in strength and spread, Trudeau used Canada’s Emergencies Act on Monday to declare the blockades illegal, tow trucks away, arrest drivers, suspend their licenses, and freeze their bank accounts.
On Thursday, Ottawa police made it clear that they were planning to end the protest and remove the more than 300 trucks, with the interim police chief of Ottawa stating, “Action is imminent.”
The two protest leaders who were detained late Thursday were scheduled to appear in court on Friday. Mischief and obstructing police are two of the charges.
Many Ottawa residents were enraged by the bumper-to-bumper occupation around Parliament Hill, which they claimed resulted in harassment and intimidation on the streets.
Protesters in trucks, tractors, and motor homes gathered across the country to protest Canada’s vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country, but the demonstrations quickly morphed into a broad attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau’s government.
The largest border blockade, which occurred at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, disrupted the flow of auto parts between the two countries, forcing the industry to reduce output. After arresting dozens of protesters, authorities lifted the siege last weekend.
On Wednesday, the final blockade in Manitoba came to an end peacefully.
Conservatives in the United States have backed the protests and donated to them.
