`Freedom Convoy' rolls back into Ottawa
Many of same protesters who took over core of capital in February return to denounce COVID rules
OTTAWA — Former “Freedom Convoy” protesters returned to Canada's capital by the hundreds on Saturday to revel on Parliament Hill and denounce COVID-19 mandates as police staged a massive operation to keep the peace and make sure demonstrators actually return home.
Protesters embraced each other, many having not seen one another since police cleared the convoy encampments that ground Ottawa to a standstill for more than three weeks in late February.
Crowds of people danced on the street in front of Parliament shouting “freedom!” while others stretched out on the lawn in front of Centre Block.
Freedom Fighters Canada spokesperson Bethan Nodwell, who helped organize the so-called “Rolling Thunder” rally, said no other activities were planned aside from a rural party later in the evening and a Sunday church service.
But Centretown Community Association President Mary Huang said residents in the area are still waiting to see if the protests wind down as anticipated and don't drag on as they did before.
“Especially some seniors in Centretown, they were basically held hostage in their homes for three and a half weeks. So they're a little bit still traumatized,” Huang said.
“The real test is if (the protesters are) going to leave like they say they will, or if they'll attempt something else.”
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said police took “a strong stance” to prevent the kind of prolonged demonstration that gripped Ottawa over the winter.
Ottawa police called in more than 800 reinforcements from RCMP and other police services who blocked off highway exits and every street into the core to prevent a new encampment from forming.
Still, that doesn't mean Ottawa has seen the end of the convoy protesters.
“We never left,” Nodwell said. Small groups of five to 10 protesters have been visiting the grounds of parliament since February to continue to call for an end to COVID-19 restrictions, she said.
Police made a handful of arrests on Saturday, including a driver who allegedly tried to jump onto a sidewalk to get around officers. Police arrested the person for dangerous driving and found them in breach of their bail conditions related to the previous protest, when they were ordered not to return to Ottawa.
Saturday's events were relatively peaceful compared to an altercation between police and protesters on Friday evening, when officers arrested seven people and faced off with what they described as an “aggressive crowd” just outside the parliamentary precinct.
At the ceremony, the majority raised their hands when a speaker asked who was at the convoy protest in February.
Officials described downtown Ottawa as falling into a state of lawlessness during those demonstrations, and the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act in an effort to dislodge participants and similar protesters who blockaded border crossings across the country.
Eventually, with the help of hundreds of police officers from other parts of the country, Ottawa police removed them from the capital's streets.
Shortly before the ceremony Saturday, a small group of counter-protesters gathered across the street from the memorial chanting “go home” to express that the protesters were not welcome back in the city.