After the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, Ontario, was largely disrupted by police last week, who made multiple arrests, encampments of truckers have sprouted outside the city, according to a report.
Two encampments in Arnprior and Vankleek Hill, which reportedly lie on private property, are being monitored by the Ontario Provincial Police, according to acting Sgt. Tyler Copeland.
“There are still people, the diehards, who seem to enjoy disrupting our city and our nation for four weeks. My advice to them is [to] please go home,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said.
According to a report, the group is refusing access to media. “You’re not getting in unless I say so. Don’t come if you’re not supposed to be here. Don’t be media. Don’t be troublemakers. We don’t have time for you guys,” a member of the encampment told a reporter.
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Officials are unsure whether these apparent Freedom Convoy truckers are gearing up for a second attempt at a blockade or if they’re simply resting ahead of their respective trips home.
Copeland called the situation “fluid,” adding that “we continue to monitor the situation and keep an open dialogue with some of the individuals at these locations.”
Russell Township Mayor Pierre Leroux attributed some of the encampments’ apparent clearing up to colder temperatures and rain. “What helped was when the temperatures dropped,” he said. “As soon as the field got muddy, the farmer didn’t want to damage his field.”
Last week, a protest organizer who was later arrested had directed protesters to regroup in a field near the Arnprior Airport. Afterward, there were reportedly several vehicles at a farm about 10 minutes from the airport. One report noted about 15 vehicles and 10 portable toilets at the scene.
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“CBC’s van slide off the road & got stuck in a ditch beside the protestors’ camp in Arnprior. A demonstrator named Tyson Garneau wearing a ‘defund the CBC’ hat pulled us out knowing we were CBC journalists,” tweeted Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Ashley Burke.
“He said he’d never leave anyone stuck like that,” she continued.
CBC’s van slide off the road & got stuck in a ditch beside the protestors’ camp in Arnprior. A demonstrator named Tyson Garneau wearing a “defund the CBC” hat pulled us out knowing we were CBC journalists. He said he’d never leave anyone stuck like that. pic.twitter.com/tNaI2GQPsJ
— Ashley Burke (@AshleyBurkeCBC) February 23, 2022
Multiple copycat convoys are reportedly headed to Washington, D.C., to protest similar COVID-19 mandates across the United States.
On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of 700 National Guard members to help keep traffic flowing.
