‘Rolling Thunder’ Day 2: Protesters proceed to Hill for speeches, ‘after-party’

3 p.m.

Ottawa police say a driver was arrested after they drove up on a sidewalk near Elgin and Queen streets. The suspect was charged with dangerous driving and was found to be someone with bail conditions stemming from charges received during the February occupation not to enter Ottawa.

11:45 a.m.

The veterans ceremony concluded shortly after 11:30 a.m. as supporters moved to the Wellington Street area o watch a convoy of motorcycles pass through the area.

A man identifiedPte. Christopher Deering (Ret.) laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as a way to “take back” the war memorial after veterans who were part of the Freedom Convoy demonstration in February were allegedly removed from the site by police along with the rest of the protesters.

Police formed a line to keep hundreds of protesters away from the street so the motorcycles could pass.

11:45 a.m.

Ottawa police reported one person was arrested following an unspecified incident on Elgin Street.

10 a.m.

A few thousand protesters and counter-protesters gathered at the War Memorial Saturday morning.

Organizers first asked supporters to take down the “F*** Trudeau” flags, because “we want to be an example to young people.”

Organizer Neil Sheard told the crowd “We are (dealing) with an information war, plain and simple.”

“If there is any mainstream media out there, you need to start telling the truth,” he said to loud cheers.

A second speaker, known only as “Chris” described being taken into custody when police dismantled the protest in February.

“On Feb 18 I talked to police to explain who we were. I was dragged … kneed, punched and denied medication. Afterwards, myself and (other) peaceful citizens were thrown out like garbage.”

The crowd reacted loudly when a speaker asked for cheers for U.S. billionaire Elon Musk’s purchase of the Twitter system. The crowd also cheered loudly for controversial Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

One speaker, identified as the “padre’ of the group, said that he felt he was alone until the truckers showed up, and said that provincial mandates would not have been lifted without trucker convoy.

The padre said he believed it was an act of God “and holy angels” that there was not a single sign of violence at convoy protest.

The “Rolling Thunder” protest moves into its second day Saturday with a number of events in the downtown area.

Bikers began gathering at St. Laurent Shopping Centre at about 9 a.m. to prepare for a driveby at the War Memorial to honour Canada’s war dead.

The bikes are expected to pass the memorial around 11 a.m. By noon, they were expected head out of the city.

The other main event is a rally at 2 p.m. on Parliament Hill organized by the Freedom Fighters of Canada group that will include speeches from anti-vaccine/anti-mandates speakers.

Provincial police said in the morning that a number of exits on the Queensway were shut down until further orders.

Police have said more than 500 motorcycles and vehicles are expected to participate in the event this weekend. The organizing group hasn’t been clear about the goals of the rallies, but said on its website it will “spread as much peace, love and patriotism to your fellow Canadians as possible.”

!function(e,i,n,s){var t=”InfogramEmbeds”,d=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(“script”);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=”https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,”infogram-async”);

Ottawa By-Law Services reported 417 tickets and about 20 vehicles towed since 7 a.m. Friday

9 a.m.

On Saturday, Ottawa Police asked for public assistance in identifying a woman in connection with an unspecified ‘incident’ with police on Rideau Street.

https://twitter.com/BDidier/status/1520400741424320512

8:30 a.m.

The activities follow a strained Friday night that saw at least seven people arrested in a confrontation on at the Rideau Centre.

Police described the crowds around Rideau and Sussex as “aggressive and combative.”

Officers donned crowd control gear, including helmets and shields, and control was restored by about 9 p.m.

There were at least seven arrests and three vehicles were towed.

There were no injuries reported.

Meanwhile, in an update, police said demonstrators attempted to use strategies to try to lure authorities away from the downtown “exclusion” sector.

At one point a number of vehicles blocked the Lees Avenue exit, causing traffic backups out onto the Queensway.

Multiple arrests happened at this location, as well as three vehicles towed.

“Plans developed over the last few weeks were effective and will continue through the weekend,” OPS said. “While dealing with these demonstrations, calls for service were responded to across the city.”

Investigative teams, including the Hate Crime Unit, are also in place and are focused on gathering evidence and laying charges, police add.

Article content

“Our plan remains focused on public safety, maintaining the right to participate in events and enforcing all applicable laws. We continue to monitor online and open-source commentary related to all events.”

The operation will continue until the demonstration and events are complete, and police will remain in place overnight, OPS add.

-With files from Elizabeth Payne and The Canadian Press

Related