Police seize guns, arrest 11 at Freedom Convoy blockade
Police in Canada have arrested 11 people after finding a stash of weapons allegedly held by a small group involved in the ongoing Freedom Convoy protests against Covid-19 mandates.
The weapons were seized early on Friday, when Canadian Mounties executed a search warrant on three truck trailers at a blockade of the Coutts, Alberta, border crossing into the US. The cache included 13 long guns, an unspecified number of handguns, sets of body armor, a machete, a large stockpile of ammunition and high-capacity magazines, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a press release.
“The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade,” according to the statement, which didn’t specify a source for that claim. RCMP accused the group of having a “militant mindset,” which was evident on Saturday evening, when members allegedly tried unsuccessfully to ram a police vehicle with a farm tractor and a semi-truck. Police seized the tractor and truck and are searching for the driver of the tractor.
None of the suspects were identified. Police said they are continuing efforts to end the “illegal blockade.” The biggest Canada-US border crossing, a bridge linking Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, was reopened on Sunday night after police ended a blockade that had shut down traffic for nearly a week.
Freedom Convoy protests have been disruptive – essentially shutting down the capital city Ottawa, for instance – but peaceful. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has characterized the demonstrators as having “unacceptable views” and has refused to budge on their demands. Canada’s Ontario province provided some relief from the mandates on Monday morning, saying it will stop requiring vaccine passports from March 1.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney reportedly said Monday’s weapons bust will clear the way for more police efforts to end the blockade in Coutts without fear of triggering violence. “Now that the RCMP has successfully resolved this potential threat, they will proceed, I’m informed, with enforcement against others who are involved in the blockade,” he said at an unrelated event in Calgary.
