Tag: protest

‘If you scare people enough, they will demand removal of freedom’: Elon Musk heaps praise on Canada’s ‘Freedom Convoy’ of 50,000 truckers protesting vaccine mandate as rigs stretch for 45 MILES: Trudeau calls protesters a ‘small fringe minority’

At least 50,000 truckers in a 45-mile long ‘Freedom Convoy’ are heading to Ottawa to protest the Canadian government’s mandate for drivers crossing the US-Canada border to have the covid vaccine – and they’re being cheered on by Elon Musk.  

Truckers left from British Columbia on Sunday and will be met in the nation’s capital on Saturday by other protesters driving from the east and the south of the country. The convoy has been joined by US truckers. 

‘It’s 70 kilometers long,’ Benjamin Dichter, a spokesman for the Freedom Convoy 2022, told the Toronto Sun after it passed Calgary heading west on Wednesday. 

‘I have seen footage from an airplane. It’s impressive.’ 

By Friday morning, the drivers were in Kingston, Ontario, which is about 110 miles from the capity. Several thousand people are expected to gather in the capital, and some of the group´s leaders are calling for a peaceful event, but statements from some associated with the group have included threats of violence.

The road in front of Parliament Hill is to be closed to general traffic. Buildings in the Parliamentary district are being closed and locked except for essential staff as of Friday and workers warned of threats of physical damage.

The convoy of truckers set to descend on the city has prompted police to prepare for the possibility of violence and politicians to warn against escalating rhetoric linked to the demonstration. A top Parliament official warned lawmakers to avoid the protest and to lock their doors amid reports their private homes may be targeted.

The truckers are, in part, protesting a new rule that took effect January 15 requiring truckers entering Canada be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country January 22. 

Elon Musk also tweeted praise for the truckers, saying: ‘If you scare people enough, they will demand removal of freedom. This is the path to tyranny.’

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GoFundMe Suspends Access to Millions of Dollars Raised for Canadian Truckers Protesting Vaccine Mandates

Big Tech fundraising platform GoFundMe has suspended access to millions of dollars raised to support Canadian truckers who are protesting against vaccine mandates.

The platform, of course, did not block fundraisers related to the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020.

Approximately $5 million Canadian dollars were raised to support the trucker’s efforts, which is roughly $4 million US.

There are roughly 50,000 trucks participating in the “Freedom Convoy 2022,” which is heading to Ottawa to protest a vaccine mandate that requires drivers to be vaccinated or face a 14-day quarantine after arriving from the US.

GoFundMe claims that the funds “will be safely held” until the Freedom Convoy provides the documents “about how funds will be properly distributed.”

“We require that fundraisers be transparent about the flow of funds and have a clear plan for how those funds will be spent. In this case, we are in touch with the organizer to verify that information,” the platform’s spokeswoman, Rachel Hollis, told CTV News.

The fundraiser clearly stated that the money would be used to help the drivers cover “the costs of fuel first, and hopefully food and lodgings” to “ease the pressures” of their “arduous task.”

Tamara Lich, the organizer of the GoFundMe, took to Facebook to tell supporters not to worry.

“I am working with GoFundMe, trust me, we got this covered,” she said.

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Cross-country truckers convoy departs B.C. for Ottawa to protest vaccine mandate

The first leg of the convoy, dubbed The Convoy For Freedom 2022 , is set to leave B.C. on Sunday. Convoy organizers plan to arrive in Ottawa on Jan. 29, where truckers from other provinces will join.

“I know a lot of drivers who are impacted by this. It has basically removed them from the workforce,” B.C. truck driver Colin Valentim told the Vancouver Sun .

Valentim will lead the B.C. leg of the convoy taking the western route and expects to be accompanied by others along the way. Two other convoys have different starting points: The eastern route is to begin on Jan. 27 in Enfield, Nova Scotia. The southern route will leave on the same day from Windsor, Ont.

A Go Fund Me page for the cause has raised more than $560,000 to help with food, lodgings and fuel for the truckers.

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Capitol bomb suspect surrenders to police

Floyd Ray Roseberry, the suspected bomber in the truck outside the Library of Congress and U.S. Capitol, has officially surrendered to police after a five-hour stand-off, MSNBC reported Thursday afternoon.

MSNBC’s Pete Williams said that there is every indication that he was acting alone, but that police are investigating it.

Videos showed him exiting his truck, holding his hands up, kneeling on the ground and crawling toward police.

The report also said that police were in his home looking for bomb-making materials and other information that could lead them to any information about what might be in his truck, if anything.

While Roseberry said that he had a bomb, police couldn’t see anything in the bed of his pickup. Roseberry said that it was in his tool-box and appeared to be holding something in his hand that one officer believed might be a detonator.

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Confirmed: Undercover Agents Were Working Capitol Rioters on January 6, Court Documents Reveal

At least one undercover agent was working the extremist groups that would show up at the Capitol on January 6th, new court documents reveal. The revelation was disclosed in an affidavit accompanying criminal charges against Fi Duong.

“An accused U.S. Capitol protester spoke with an undercover Washington police officer on Jan. 6 who later connected the man to an undercover FBI worker,” the Epoch Times reported.

“On the morning of January 6, 2021, Fi Duong and an associate of his (Associate 1) introduced themselves to a Metropolitan Police Department Undercover Employee (MPD UCE) in the vicinity of Freedom Plaza, Washington, D.C,” the criminal complaint states. “Duong asked the MPD UCE if he/she was a ‘patriot,’ to which the MPD UCE responded in the affirmative and asked Duong the same question. Duong responded by claiming to be an ‘operator’.”

“Later that afternoon, the MPD UCE observed Duong kneeling by a marble fence on the West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol building, past the line of police officers and the construction scaffolding which were in place on January 6, 2021,” the statement continued. “The location where Duong was observed is known to be within what was a restricted zone on January 6, 2021. Duong and the MPD UCE exchanged greetings to one another but did not communicate further. Duong did not appear to be interacting with anyone else.”

The criminal complaint, filed by FBI special agent Jason Jankovitz, provides details on the FBI’s monitoring of Duong and a “Bible study” group that served as a front group.

The Washington Post’s report on Duong notes in passing that this may be the first time that an undercover FBI agent was confirmed as working an extremist group.

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DC Mayor Told Federal Law Enforcement To Stand Down Day Before Violent US Capitol Riot

Mayor Muriel Bowser told federal law enforcement to stand down just one day before a mob of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, smashing windows, entering the chambers, and forcing lawmakers and congressional staff inside into lockdown.

“To be clear, the District of Columbia is not requesting other federal law enforcement personnel and discourages any additional deployment without immediate notification to, and consultation with, MPD if such plans are underway,” Bowser wrote in a letter to acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, and Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy.

According to Bowser, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department in coordination with the U.S. Park Police, Capitol Police, and Secret Sevice were well-equipped to handle whatever problems could come up during the Trump rallies planned for Wednesday.

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Seattle protesters want the city to pay them to protest

Far-left activists in Seattle are now suing the city with claims that they need costly protective gear to protest safely against the police. In other words, they want the city to pay protesters to conduct demonstrations.

The plaintiffs, who claim that “only a privileged few” can perform demonstrations safely, allege that the Seattle police department’s anti-riot tactics have forced them to acquire expensive gear to enjoy their First Amendment right to assemble.

First reported by KIRO-TV news, five protesters who filed their lawsuit on Monday say that they attended the July 25 protest on Capitol Hill, which was later declared a riot, are calling upon the city to stop its police department from using less lethal anti-riot measures including pepperballs and pepper spray.

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