Ottawa: At least seven people were arrested in Ottawa during the Sunday “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations and multiple vehicles and fuel were seized, the city police said. One person was arrested for driving while prohibited, another was arrested for “mischief relating to property damage of a downtown business” on Sunday morning, the Ottawa Police detailed in a statement, also said that five more people were arrested for mischief later in the day.
“Multiple vehicles and fuel have been seized,” the police said, adding that over 100 tickets were issued to drivers for various violations. According to Ottawa police, the Confederation Park has been fully cleared and fenced. “There are over 60 criminal investigations so far related to the demonstration.
They are primarily for mischief, thefts, hate crimes and property damage,” the police said. Earlier on Sunday, Ottawa police warned on Twitter that anyone attempting to bring “material supports,” such as fuel, to the protesters could be subject to arrest. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency in the city on Sunday, telling CFRA radio that the “situation at this point is completely out of control.”
The current wave of protests against COVID-19 measures in Canada started at the end of January when thousands of truckers and other demonstrators gathered in Ottawa expressing strong opposition to vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the US-Canada border. The so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests have been generally peaceful. On Friday, Premier of Canada’s Ontario Province Doug Ford described the demonstrations in Ottawa as “occupation” and urged people to put an end to it.
