‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters who block streets could be ‘arrested without a warrant,’ Ottawa police warn

“It is a criminal offence to obstruct, interrupt or interfere with the lawful use, enjoyment, or operation of property,” Ottawa police said in a news release issued Wednesday, telling protesters: “You must immediately cease further unlawful activity or you may face charges.”

Police said those found to be taking part in criminal activity — which could include blocking streets or “assisting others in the blocking of streets” — could be arrested. Police are also giving notice that vehicles could be seized and possibly forfeited if people are convicted.

The warning comes as law enforcement officials are under pressure to use tougher measures to disperse demonstrations, including those that continue to clog traffic arteries between the United States and Canada. So far, two major ports of entry — the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, and the Coutts crossing linking Montana to Alberta — have been closed or partially blocked.

Auto industry already feeling the pinch from Canadian bridge blockade

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been widely targeted by protesters denouncing his response to the pandemic, called the obstruction of border crossings an economic crisis, tweeting that the blockades in Windsor and the capital, Ottawa, where a state of emergency was declared over the weekend, “must stop” — but didn’t elaborate on how this could be achieved.

The blockades, he said, “are endangering jobs, impeding trade, threatening the economy, and obstructing our communities.” Trudeau’s remarks came as business groups and experts reported that the recent bridge blockades were hurting supply chains. Approximately $300 million in goods crosses the Ambassador Bridge every day.

Despite the warning from Ottawa police, some local law enforcement officers seemed to acknowledge the fraught implications of mass arrests.

“You can’t arrest your way out of the choices that people are making … the best thing is for them to make the decision to leave,” a Royal Canadian Mounted Police superintendent in Alberta, Roberta McKale, told reporters Wednesday at one of the protest sites near Coutts. “And they’ve got to go.”

Still, McKale said, asking the protesters to leave has so far not worked: “We’re going to have to use our enforcement options in order to have that happen.”

And Windsor’s mayor, Drew Dilkens, warned that arresting people could lead to violence, telling local outlets that Windsor police must be “calculated and appropriately balanced” in how they handle protesters. “At this time, our focus is on maintaining security and de-escalating the situation as much as possible,” he said during a press briefing.

Dilkens noted that some protesters believe “they are fighting for a cause that is worth dying for,” adding that “that type of sentiment translates into different behaviors than any normal protests.”

In Ottawa, where more than 1,000 tickets for offenses including excessive noise and red-light violations have been issued, municipal authorities are stepping up enforcement. They can now issue fines up to nearly $800 for setting fires or creating noise, a steep increase for those types of offenses, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Here’s what you need to know about the ‘Freedom Convoy’ in Canada

The Ambassador Bridge is temporarily closed, while the delay at the Coutts land crossing is estimated at seven hours, according to Canada’s border service agency. Dilkens said in an interview Wednesday that local police have tried to keep at least one lane open in each direction on the Ambassador Bridge so that goods could be transported across the border while respecting people’s right to protest.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is also monitoring a campaign in which truckers in the United States are potentially planning to block roads in major metropolitan areas in protest of vaccine mandates. The Super Bowl in Los Angeles on Sunday and President Biden’s State of the Union address March 1 could be affected.

In New Zealand, an anti-vaccine rally outside Parliament in Wellington led to mass arrests, after crowds gathered to protest myriad reasons, including lockdown restrictions and alleged media corruption.

“We stand with Ottawa,” read the message on the side of one truck at the scene, while others held signs attacking the media and calling the global health crisis “a plandemic.”

‘Freedom Convoy’ in Canada inspires vaccine-mandate protests from New York to New Zealand

The Wellington district commander, Superintendent Corrie Parnell, told reporters that 120 people were arrested Thursday as the protest there goes into its third day.

Similar demonstrations — seemingly energized by Canada’s convoy — have also been held in Australia, France, Alaska and across Europe in recent days.

Read more:

Canada’s capital is jammed, its border crossings are blockaded, and there’s no end in sight

‘Freedom Convoy’ in Canada inspires vaccine-mandate protests from New York to New Zealand

A self-described ‘Freedom Convoy’ of Canadian truckers opposed to vaccine mandate arrives in Ottawa