(OTTAWA) The rally of opponents of public health measures, which began Friday in the nation’s capital, is expected to end this Sunday.
Posted at 10:45 a.m.
The “Rolling Thunder” will have succeeded in attracting a large crowd to Ottawa, a few months after the February occupation which dragged on for three weeks.
A spokeswoman for Freedom Fighters Canada, one of the groups that helped organize the protest, said the only activity scheduled for Sunday was a mass scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
Forty-five minutes before the event, a few dozen motorcyclists had arrived at the Capital City Bikers’Church.
The building has been vandalized. Someone had graffitied “no paradise for fascists” in red and black letters on his wall.
Rally organizers said the purpose was to oppose mandatory vaccination against COVID-19.
The Ottawa Police Service said it arrested three people on Saturday, although the protest remained peaceful. Seven other people had been arrested the day before.
Demonstrators took part in a ceremony at the National War Memorial and a rally of motorcyclists on Parliament Hill.
A woman was arrested after assaulting police officers on Elgin Street, where the rally of motorcyclists moved. A man has been arrested for violating the conditions of his release following the February events.
Another man will face multiple charges, including dangerous driving, assault with a weapon and breaching conditions.
Police are also investigating “an incident of hate-motivated mischief at a religious institution” reported to them shortly before 7 a.m. It is unclear whether this incident is related to the gathering.
In another tweet on Sunday, the Ottawa Police Service also reported 761 parking tickets, 10 provincial offenses and 39 towed vehicles.
Interim Leader Steve Bell has warned protesters that they will not be allowed to begin a long-term occupation. However, citizens, including the president of the Downtown Community Association, Mary Huang, say they won’t believe him until they see these protesters leaving town on Sunday afternoon.