Demonstrators in downtown Ottawa persisted in standing their ground late Friday, where protests turned physical and police say more than 100 people have been arrested.
Tensions between Canadian authorities and protesters have been simmering over the last few weeks as crowds and idling trucks filled the capital city, demanding the elimination of Covid-19 preventative measures including mask and vaccination requirements.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A police officer watches as a truck leaves Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, February 18.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Police officers form a line as they push back protesters on February 18.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester faces off with police on February 18.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Police gather near the site of the trucker blockade on February 18. Police began arresting protesters and towing away trucks Friday to clear streets that have been blocked for weeks.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A man prepares a truck for towing in Ottawa.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A man is detaiined by police as protesters and supporters gather in downtown Ottawa on Thursday, February 17.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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From left, protest leaders Eddie Stewart Cornell, Vincent Gircys and Daniel Bulford attend a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, February 16.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Trucks and protesters block downtown streets near Canada’s Parliament in Ottawa on Tuesday, February 15.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A truck convoy departs Coutts, Alberta, after blocking the highway at the US border crossing on Tuesday, February 15.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Truck drivers block traffic outside Canada’s Parliament on Monday, February 14.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Police gather to clear protesters who blocked the entrance to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, February 13. The Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest land border crossing, reopened Sunday.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A demonstrator stands atop a truck holding a Canadian flag during a protest outside the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa on Saturday, February 12.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A demonstrator lets off a firework during a protest outside Parliament in Ottawa on February 12.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Truck drivers and others protest Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in Ottawa on February 12.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A demonstrator shouts during a protest outside Parliament on Friday, February 11. Canada’s Ontario province declared a state of emergency Friday over the trucker-led protests paralyzing the capital and blocking trade with the United States.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Protesters heading out of and into Niagara Square in Buffalo, New York, honk their horns as they head toward the Peace Bridge on February 12. One holds a bobblehead doll of former President Donald Trump out his window while stopped in traffic.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester wears Canadian flags on her head during a protest outside Parliament on February 11.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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The Ambassador Bridge closing slowed supplies to US automakers. It also caused major traffic jams, such as this one, which diverted vehicles to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, on February 9.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Supporters wave flags as a convoy of trucks moves through Toronto on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester walks to a demonstration in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Counterprotesters gather at Terminal Avenue to block a convoy of protesters in Vancouver on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Supporters of the protesters pass by a honking truck near Queen’s Park in Toronto on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester holds up a wanted poster of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as protesters gather around Queen’s Park in Toronto on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Trucks parked in downtown Ottawa continue to protest Covid-19 mandates on February 4.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester requests that police let trucks come close to Queen’s Park during a protest at the park to support the truckers and denounce the government’s vaccination policy.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Trucks from the so-called Freedom Convoy block downtown streets during a demonstration in Ottawa on February 3.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester stands with a Canadian flag in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Lines of trucks block the US-Canada border during a demonstration in Coutts, Alberta, on February 2.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Truck drivers and supporters protest in Ottawa on January 31.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A child in Ottawa holds a sign comparing Covid-19 regulations to Nazi Germany on January 30.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Supporters arrive at Parliament Hill to protest on January 29. Hundreds of truckers drove their giant rigs into the Canadian capital.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Protesters party as a firework explodes in front of Parliament Hill during a rally in Ottawa on January 29.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A supporter of the Freedom Convoy protests Covid-19 mandates in Ottawa on January 29.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A man holds a firework during a protest in Ottawa on January 29.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Supporters of the truckers gather near a highway overpass outside of Toronto on January 27.
On Friday, the gridlock reached a crescendo when Ottawa police say protesters assaulted officers and tried to remove their weapons. One person was arrested after throwing a bicycle toward a police horse, police said, and by the end of the day more than 100 were arrested and 21 vehicles were towed.
A protester was arrested Saturday morning as law enforcement stepped up efforts to clear out protesters.
“One protester launched a gas canister and was arrested,” Ottawa police said in a tweet
Police response will be with public and officer safety in mind, police said.
Earlier Saturday morning, police warned protesters to leave.
“We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses. Based on your behaviour, we are responding by including helmets and batons for our safety,” police said.
Demonstrators have been blockading Ottawa streets since January 29; despite threats of legal consequences, many have shown no signs of backing down. In response, city, provincial and federal law enforcement officers began an unprecedented operation Friday morning to remove protesters along with their vehicles.
And while some people have voluntarily left the scene, dozens continued to clog the streets in and around Parliament on Friday as snow fell and bitter temperatures remained below freezing.
The situation prompted the Canadian House of Commons to cancel its meeting Friday, House Speaker Anthony Rota said in a statement. The meeting was slated to discuss the Canadian government’s invoking the Emergencies Act on Monday due to the protests, and officials say they hope Parliament will resume Saturday.
The Emergencies Act – which is being invoked for the first time in the country since it passed in 1988 – can provide for the use of the military, but may not necessarily lead to that, and the prime minister said the government is not bringing them in.
The points of contention have also become more delicate in recent days as some protesters placed young children between them and police. CNN has observed those children on the protest site in the last several days.
On Saturday morning, the downtown core remained quiet as the standoff continues. Police will try to retake more streets, which could lead to more confrontations.
More than 100 checkpoints remain to keep more protesters from entering the city.
Legislators resumed emergency debate on the Emergencies Act.
A primary goal of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invoking of the Emergencies Act is help curtail funding to Ottawa demonstrators, officials have said.
And Trudeau has pointed out that some people in the US as well as elsewhere are funneling funding to the protesters.
“We see that roughly half of the funding that is flowing to the barricaders here is coming from the United States. The goal of all measures, including financial measures in the Emergencies Act, is to deal with the current threat only, and to get the situation fully under control.”
Meanwhile, officials in US are concerned that similar unrest may arise in Washington, DC, as President Joe Biden prepares for the State of the Union address on March 1.
The US Capitol Police has begun coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in anticipation of a potential trucker convoy descending on Capitol Hill. The preparation efforts include Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, the United States Park Police, the United States Secret Service and the DC National Guard.
Several people arrested earlier this week have been charged in the protests, which in recent weeks have evolved from opposition to a trucker vaccine mandate to encompassing a disdain for all Covid-19 safety measures.
Patrick James King, 44, of Red Deer, Alberta, was arrested Friday, according to Ottawa Police.
King is charged by the Criminal Investigations Section with mischief, counseling to commit the offense of mischief, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying court order, and counseling to commit the offense of obstructing police.
King will appear in court on Saturday.
He is the third organizer to be arrested by law enforcement in Ottawa.
On Friday, Ottawa police confirmed the arrests of organizers Tamara Lich, 49, and Christopher John Barber, 46.
Lich was charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief and Barber has been charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying a court order, and counseling to commit the offense of obstructing police.
Barber had a contested bail hearing Friday, attorney Diane Magas said in an email to CNN. He was released on the condition that he leave Ottawa and a bond, she added. Lich is scheduled to appear in court Saturday morning for her arraignment.
This week, blockades to border crossings in Alberta and Ontario culminated in arrests being made as police cleared the areas. Four people have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the blockade at Coutts, Alberta, and multiple weapons and rounds of ammunition were seized.