(OTTAWA) Ottawa police made several arrests on Friday as they confronted demonstrators from a motorcycle convoy opposing sanitary measures and joined by truckers trying to ride with them to Parliament Hill.
Posted at 7:22
The motorcycle event is called “Rolling Thunder” by its organizers. Several of the protesters at the rally had also participated in the trucker demonstrations, dubbed the “freedom convoy,” that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for three weeks last February in protest of health restrictions in country and the policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Friday’s protest had started quietly on Parliament Hill, but as night fell, trucks, campers and other trucks made their way to the core of the group.
Protesters gathered around the trucks but were met by a line of police in tactical gear, equipped with helmets and batons.
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Photo Justin Tang, The Canadian Press
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Photo Sean Kilpatrick, The Canadian Press
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Photo Justin Tang, The Canadian Press
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Photo Sean Kilpatrick, The Canadian Press
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Seven people were arrested for various offences, including assaulting police, and 24 vehicles were towed, the Ottawa Police Service said in a statement.
Ottawa city councilor Jeff Leiper also reported seeing police smash the window of a truck to gain control of the vehicle.
The protest is expected to continue Saturday as hundreds of motorcyclists are expected to join them in downtown Ottawa. They have planned a stop at the National War Memorial, before heading to Parliament Hill for a large rally.