A man braves the -25C weather at the Freedom Convoy protesting Covid-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions in front of Parliament in Ottawa, Canada. Photo: AFP/Dave Chan
One of the leaders of the trucker-led protest in Canada was arrested in Ottawa on Thursday, the Freedom Convoy movement said on its official Twitter account.
Tamara Lich, one of the organisers, did not resist as she was taken into police custody. She was charged with ‘counselling to committing obstruction’.
When Ottawa authorities initially issued the final warning for arrest, Lich said on social media she expected to be arrested.
Authorities also arrested Chris Barber. As per Freedom Convoy, Barber was charged with obstruction of justice, counselling to commit obstruction, and counselling to commit mischief.
This follows after authorities took action on Thursday to end the three-week trucker-led protest blockading the Canadian capital.
Ottawa interim police chief Steve Bell said at a news conference authorities have “begun to harden the perimeter around the protests”.
This includes installing security barriers and restricting access to the downtown area occupied by protests against Covid-19 rules.
The Freedom Convoy 2022 movement – described by its organisers as a “grassroots, freedom movement – “reaffirmed its commitment to “peaceful demonstration”.
Press contacts Dagny Pawlak and Benjamin Dichter said, “there are many diverse voiced here in Ottawa who have assembled to demand the return of their freedoms.”
The organisers said Freedom Convoy and its members “do not support any form of hateful rhetoric, divisive comments, or calls for violence”.
Police comments from AFP.