Canadian police seize guns, high-capacity magazines, body armor, machete after arresting protesters
PICTURED: Canadian Mounties display huge cache of weapons and body armor seized after arresting 11 Freedom Convoy protesters at the US border before Trudeau’s emergency declaration
Police raided three trailers at the protest site between Alberta, Canada, and the US state of Montana early on Monday morningOfficers made 11 arrests and seized a large cache of weapons including 13 long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armor and a macheteThe arrests came after one of the protesters tried to ram a police vehicle with his tractor trailer on Sunday nightThe tractor has been seized and officers are searching for the driver, as the force works to keep the bridge open after a week of blockages and unrest Later on Monday, PM Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers to quell the paralyzing protests by truckers, outlining plans not only to tow away their rigs but to strike at their bank accounts and their livelihoodsTrudeau did not indicate when the new crackdowns would begin
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
Canadian mounted police have shared a photo of the huge stash of weapons, ammo and body armor seized after they cleared Freedom Convoy protesters from a border area.
The stash, picked up from protesters in Coutts, along the Montana-Alberta crossing, includes multiple long guns, hundreds of bullets and body armor. Cops have not identified the owners’, and it is unclear if the weapons seized were legally-held.
Eleven people connected to the anti-vaccine mandate protests which have halted cross-border travel in Canada were arrested in the Alberta village of Coutts, close to the Montana border, the Royal Canadian Mountain Police said on Monday.
Later Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers to quell the paralyzing protests by truckers, outlining plans not only to tow away their rigs but to strike at their bank accounts and their livelihoods.
‘These blockades are illegal, and if you are still participating, the time to go home is now,’ he declared.
Canadian Mounties on Monday arrested 11 people and seized a cache (pictured) of guns, body armor, high-capacity magazines and a machete in connection to what they said was a plot to use force against police if they attempted to disperse the protest
On Monday, Trudeau invoked emergency powers to quell the paralyzing protests, outlining plans not only to tow away their rigs but to strike at their bank accounts and their livelihoods
Trudeau threatened to tow away vehicles to keep essential services running; freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts; and suspend the insurance on their rigs
Trudeau did not indicate when the new crackdowns would begin. But he gave assurances the emergency measures ‘will be time-limited, geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address’
In invoking Canada’s Emergencies Act, which gives the federal government broad powers to restore order, Trudeau ruled out using the military.
His government instead threatened to tow away vehicles to keep essential services running; freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts; and suspend the insurance on their rigs.
‘Consider yourselves warned,’ Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said. ‘Send your rigs home.’
Freeland, who is also the finance minister, said the government will also broaden its anti-money-laundering regulations to target crowd-funding sites that are being used to support the illegal blockades.
Trudeau did not indicate when the new crackdowns would begin. But he gave assurances the emergency measures ‘will be time-limited, geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address.’
Those arrested earlier Monday were described by the police as ‘a small organized group within the larger Coutts protest,’ and had been blocking the crossing from Coutts, population 245 people, into Sweet Grass, Montana for a week.
The Coutts crossing sees $44 million ($35m) per day in two-way trade, said David MacLean, vice-president of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters.
‘The Alberta RCMP recently became aware of a small organized group within the larger Coutts protest,’ they said in a statement.
‘Information was received that this group had access to a cache of firearms with a large quantity of ammunition.
‘The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade. This resulted in an immediate and complex investigation to determine the extent of the threat and criminal organization.’
Protesters are seen at the Coutts, Alberta crossing earlier in the blockade. The demonstrators have been removed and early on Monday 11 people were arrested after weapons were found
Police are seen standing close to the US-Canada border in Alberta, where protests have been staged for a week
Truckers are seen blocking the border between the US and Canada in Alberta
Three crossings are now blockaded, with the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit the most key for trade
Early on Monday morning, the RCMP, equipped with a search warrant, raided three trailers and arrested the 11.
The police found 13 long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armor and a machete.
They said they seized a large quantity of ammunition and high capacity magazines.
Officers are now searching for the driver of the tractor trailer, who attempted to ram the police vehicle.
The RCMP said the attempted attack was ‘an example of the militant mindset of a small segment of the protest’.
They said the protesters’ vehicles involved were a large farm tractor and a semi truck, both involved in the blockade.
The driver of the police vehicle swerved to avoid the collision, and officers followed the suspects to a place where the protesters were gathering. The farm tractor and semi truck involved have been seized, and the driver identified as police search for him.
A Canadian trucker blocking the border near Coutts, Alberta
The Coutts protest, which lasted a week, was costing the country CA $48 million a day in lost trade, the finance minister said
The unrest in Alberta came as, 1,750 miles away in Ontario, police were also working to keep the Ambassador bridge between Windsor and Detroit, Michigan open.
On Monday afternoon, Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the border blockade in Coutts, is disrupting CA $48 million ($37m) daily in international trade.
The Emerson, Manitoba, border block costs CA $73 million a day, while the blockade at the Ambassador bridge costs CA $390 million a day.
Protesters there were removed on Saturday morning, and police are now patrolling the area to prevent the blockade reforming.
The Emerson bridge was also open, but with significant delays.
