Police arrest 170 people, retake Wellington Street from convoy protesters in downtown Ottawa
CTV
Police have arrested 170 people over the past two days as officers moved in to clear "Freedom Convoy" demonstrators off Wellington Street for the first time in three weeks.
Officers moved protesters off the streets around Parliament Hill Saturday morning, a major step in their efforts to end the demonstration that began Jan. 28.
"We've made some very important progress in safely removing this unlawful protest from our streets," Ottawa police interim chief Steve Bell said.
"At every step in this operation, we've been upfront and clear with the unlawful protesters that they must leave the area."
As of 3:30 p.m., 47 people had been arrested as part of the police operation today. There have been 170 arrests since the operation began on Friday, and 53 vehicles have been towed from downtown streets.
