Pat King, one of the organizers of an anti-government rally on Parliament Hill, is due in court today to face charges connected to his role in the protest.
King, 44, is charged with mischief, counselling to do mischief, counselling to defy a court order, and counselling to obstruct police, according to Ottawa police.
On Friday, King livestreamed his own arrest on Facebook.
Police say King, who hails from Red Deer, Alta., will appear in court today.
King is among the more than 100 people police say they have arrested as part of a massive police operation to clear demonstrators who have been blockading Parliament Hill for nearly four weeks.
Two other protest organizers – Chris Barber and Tamara Lich – were arrested earlier on charges of counselling to commit mischief. Barber also faces charges of counselling to disobey a court order and obstructing police.
An Ontario Court granted Barber bail and Lich is set to appear in an Ottawa courtroom Saturday for a bail hearing.
Justice Julie Bourgeois released Barber on a $100,000 bond and on the conditions he leave Ontario by next Wednesday and not publicly endorse the convoy or have any contact with the other major protest organizers.
King, Lich and other organizers of the so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’ 2022 protests also saw a temporary freeze to their bank accounts – including Bitcoin and cryptocurrency funds – following an Ontario Superior Court ruling on Thursday.
Police say so far at least 21 vehicles were towed Friday as hundreds of officers – some of them on horseback – fanned out across the area to take back the streets from the hundreds of big rigs and trucks that have been idling there for weeks.
The well-coordinated police action began peacefully Friday, but as the day wore on tensions escalated with the police accusing protesters of assaulting officers, trying to take their weapons, and in one case throwing a bicycle at a police horse. Some protesters claimed they were assaulted by officers.
At a news conference on Friday evening, acting Ottawa police chief Steve Bell said that emptying the area will take time, but that the operation was “deliberate and systematic” and that officers were in control on the ground.
He said there had been no significant injuries and that those arrested had been charged with a variety of offenses, including mischief, and that police were still urging demonstrators to leave peacefully.
Meanwhile, MPs will resume debate today in the House of Commons on the use of the Emergencies Act to respond to the illegal blockades. The debate began on Thursday, but on the advice of parliamentary security, Government House leader Mark Holland announced in a Twitter post that House leaders from all parties agreed to cancel Friday’s session.
Source_ cp24.com
