191 arrests later, Ottawa police remove remaining 'Freedom Convoy' vehicles
CTV
After more than three weeks of demonstrations, the only engines heard around Parliament on Sunday were those of tow trucks working to remove the last remaining "Freedom Convoy" vehicles from downtown Ottawa.
The scene marked a dramatic shift from just a day or two earlier, when police and protesters engaged in tense standoffs around Parliament Hill — one side looking to end weeks of anti-mandate and anti-government protests in the nation's capital, the other trying to extend them.
With the size of the protests having diminished considerably over the last few days, Ottawa police reported at least 191 total arrests Sunday morning and 57 vehicles towed, numbers that could increase once interim police Chief Steve Bell provides his update to the media later this afternoon.
Of the 191 arrestees, 103 have been charged, mostly for mischief and obstruction. Eighty-nine of those were released with conditions, while the rest were released unconditionally.
The arrests come after officers took a more aggressive approach to "Freedom Convoy" demonstrators on Saturday, carrying batons, wearing helmets, using pepper spray, and deploying the Anti-Riot Weapon ENfield (ARWEN), considered a "less-lethal" firearm, after demonstrators allegedly assaulted police with weapons.
