Pro-Trump rally draws several hundred
The pro-Trump/anti-Trump culture clash came to Ottawa on Saturday with violence, venom and an argument over crowd size that echoed the dispute over attendance at the U.S. president’s January inauguration.
Billed as a “Million Canadian March,” Saturday’s rally on Parliament Hill drew several hundred people, but was billed as being more than 10 times that size by American alt-right website Breitbart News.
“5,000 Canadians march in support of Trump, against Liberal Trudeau administration,” Breitbart said in the headline of its post on Saturday that was shared more than 34,500 times.
The text of the article revises that to “up to 5,000” rallied on Parliament Hill.
Melissa Rusk, spokeswoman for the Parliamentary Protective Service, put the number at “between 300-400 individuals.”
Rusk said there were no incidents on the Hill during the rally, but Ottawa police did say two men were seriously injured in an altercation before the event in Confederation Park when pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators clashed.
Five people were arrested and four charged with numerous offences including assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, robbery and uttering death threats, said Ottawa police Const. Marc Soucy.
The altercation took place at about 11:30 a.m.
Police also locked down the lobby of police headquarters on Elgin Street on Saturday evening when supporters of the men arrested demonstrated outside.
The victim of the alleged assault was Kevin J. Johnston, who posted his account of what happened on his website freedomreport.ca.
Johnston’s ear was badly cut in the assault. His videographer suffered a concussion and was taken to hospital by ambulance, he said.
The Hill demonstration, which Johnston never made it to, was an eclectic gathering that voiced support for U.S. President Donald Trump.
The four men charged were released from custody on Saturday. They are Ian Gilmour, 20, of Ottawa; Demitri William, 22, of Hull; John Hollingsworth, 46, of Ottawa; and Bobby Morneau, 30, of Tascherau, Que.