Bikers descend on Ottawa to protest government

STORY: Organizers of the convoy, which they call “Rolling Thunder Ottawa,” say it is in support of “freedom” and military veterans, but local media say several of the participants were in Ottawa during the previous protest, which was against a vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers.

Opening ceremonies were peaceful on Saturday morning, but Ottawa police said they arrested several people on Friday (April 29), after a march by hundreds of bikers, pedestrians and cars waving Canadian flags through downtown Ottawa turned unruly.

The “Rolling Thunder” event comes less than three months after a truckers’ movement paralyzed the capital for more than three weeks.

In February, the government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced to invoke seldom-used emergency powers to clear Ottawa. At the time, protesters had also blocked key border crossings to the United States. Read full story

This time around, Ottawa police say they will allow no motor vehicles to stop or park on downtown streets, and additional personnel have been brought in to bolster municipal authorities.