As Canadian authorities had warned since last Friday, the police began arresting anti-vaccine protesters who are blocking the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Canada with the United States.
“Police actions continue in the area of the demonstration and arrests are made. Vehicles are towed. Please continue to avoid the area,” police in the border town of Windsor warned early Sunday on Twitter.
Added the police force that they arrested a 27 year-old man for a criminal offense related to the demonstration, and stressed that the officers will intervene if necessary in order to guarantee the safety of citizens.
The actions against the members of the protests occur after a Canadian judge ordered that from 7: 00 Friday pm the area was to be cleared, a measure that the Windsor police assured complies with the premise of “zero tolerance” for “illegal activity”.
The Premier of the province of Ontario, Doug Ford, declared a state of emergency on Friday and promised serious consequences for protesters who continue to block the bridge, as well as other surrounding areas.
“Let me be as clear as possible, there will be consequences for these actions, and they will be serious. We have already started looking for money that finances the illegal occupation,” Ford said from his Twitter account, threatening a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine of $100,11 dollars to those who do not leave the blocked areas.
Prior to the police intervention, only two vans and less than a dozen protesters blocked the road to the bridge, while the police barricades remained. It has not been specified when the bridge will be able to open, Fox News reported.
The protests on the Ambassador Bridge began a week ago when Canadian truckers were protesting vaccination mandates in their country, a situation that made uniting more people with the passing of days, which has caused setbacks in the Detroit area and Canada.
Furthermore, in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, protests were becoming massive, which have continued this weekend, registering approximately 4,000 protesters.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ottawa Police Service have joined forces to counter protesters in the capital.