Police started making arrests close to a key US-Canadian border bridge early Sunday, as a court docket order has failed to finish the “Freedom Convoy” protests towards COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Police in Windsor, Ontario mentioned they started detaining protesters and towing automobiles simply after daybreak close to the Ambassador Bridge, which runs from the Canadian metropolis to Detroit.
Solely two pickup vans and fewer than a dozen protesters blocked the highway to the bridge earlier than police descended on the demonstrations.
Police barricades, nonetheless, remained up on the bride and it’s unclear when it might be opened.
Police on Saturday had tried to persuade protesters to maneuver their pickup vans and automobiles from blocking the bridge, which sees about 25% of all commerce between the 2 international locations.
Within the metropolis of Ottawa, the place the protests first started weeks in the past, crowds of protesters had surged to round 4,000.
The demonstrations had impressed comparable protests around the globe together with New Zealand, the place authorities blasted out Barry Manilow’s songs and different tunes in an try and get the crowds to go away, the Independent reported.
Among the many songs being performed on a 15-minute loop was Los Del Rio’s Nineteen Nineties pop hit “Macarena,” the outlet reported.
In the meantime, in Canada, a choose ordered an finish to the blockade of automobiles.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford additionally declared a state of emergency permitting for fines of 100,000 Canadian {dollars} and as much as one 12 months in jail for anybody illegally blocking roads, bridges, walkways and different crucial infrastructure.
The bridge’s closure has impacted commerce, significantly for the auto business which has been compelled to shut two crops on either side.
With Submit wires
