Interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell declared on Saturday that the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests in Canada’s capital were over after nearly 200 protesters were arrested and many others left the area.
“This unlawful occupation is over. We will continue with our mission until it is complete,”Bell said, noting there were still smaller protests at Ottawa.
According to the police chief, 170 arrests were made in Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, Tom Marazzo, a protest organizer declared that there were many demonstrators. “decided to peacefully withdraw”They would. “simply regroup as a grassroots movement.”
Bell, however, vowed Friday that he would pursue those involved in protests and penalize them financially. “If you are involved in this protest, we will actively look to identify you and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges,”He was very clear.
Protests collapsed soon after Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister invoked emergency power to end the protest. Authorities were able to stop protestors from accessing their bank accounts and make arrests.
Viral videos subsequently showed police officers trampling protesters with horses, pepper-spraying journalists, and using other forms of violence – which drew both domestic and foreign condemnation.
US Congresswoman Yvette Herrell promised on Saturday to introduce legislation that would provide Canadian protesters with asylum, comparing Canada’s “heavy-handed crackdown against peaceful protesters”Similar to the of “an authoritarian regime like Venezuela.” Herrell said Canada’s response to the protests were “not the action of a Western Democracy”Known as the Country “the embarrassment of the free world.”
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