Share this page!

Andrew Lawton Profile picture
Twitter logo
Feb 17 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Just arrived in Ottawa to report on the freedom convoy. Quieter than my last visit here on the first weekend of the convoy’s arrival.
Police are in the lobby of my hotel handing out notices to protesters. Civil conversations — no sign of arrests or charges.
Here are the notices being distributed. (I had to ask for one, for what it’s worth.)
One officer asks demonstrators to read the notice and consider if it’s worth losing their livelihoods over the protest.
Another officer takes a different approach: “Is this working? Have they lifted the mandates?” Protester responds no, but says that’s why they need to stay in place.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Andrew Lawton

Andrew Lawton Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @AndrewLawton

Andrew Lawton Profile picture
Feb 17
Police have just taken down a man who was in the crowd. He appeared to be vigorously resisting the arrest. The main speaker says he was reported to police by the protesters because he was not “being safe.” Image
Police established a large human perimeter around the takedown. I was inside it and not asked to leave just by virtue of where I was standing.
Crowd is now applauding police as they remove the man.
Read 5 tweets
Andrew Lawton Profile picture
Feb 17
The government gave three criteria for prohibited protests.

The Parliament Hill protest does not interfere with trade, and the Hill is not critical infrastructure.

This means only justification to declare it unlawful is 2(c), for which no evidence has been provided. Image
Please correct me if I'm misreading something, but I just don't see how the Ottawa protest (as opposed to border blockades) is even addressed by this order, though Ottawa police are using this order as justification to threaten arrest on anyone present.
This is a highly relevant question as the government continues to claim it is not infringing on the right to peaceful assembly. At what point does a peaceful, lawful assembly (many of which shut down streets, admittedly not for several weeks) become an unlawful one?
Read 4 tweets
Andrew Lawton Profile picture
Feb 16
Marco Mendocino said the people arrested on gun charges in Coutts were part of a far-right group with a presence in Ottawa. Asked for details, he backtracked: "The rhetoric that supported the movement in Coutts is very similar...to the kind of rhetoric we're seeing" in Ottawa.
So the public safety minister was just making stuff up?
Another reporter presses Mendocino on whether there was a real connection between the guns in Coutts and protesters in Ottawa – and Mendocino rolls, and admits it was just his own conclusion from social media.
Read 4 tweets
Andrew Lawton Profile picture
Feb 16
I've read the Emergencies Act order-in-council and spoken to several lawyers – no one has any idea whether the government will target individual convoy donors because they've provided no info about what they plan to do.
What the order does indicate is that the government is viewing support for the convoy in the same way it views money laundering and terrorist financing.
What's also clear is that the government has given banks carte blanche to report and freeze accounts based on "suspicion" alone, without liability. Does someone withdrawing cash from an Ottawa ATM fit the bill? An Interac etransfer to someone in Ottawa? No one knows.
Read 4 tweets
Andrew Lawton Profile picture
Feb 16
Under Trudeau's Emergency Act order, it's illegal to bring a minor within 500 metres of a banned "public assembly."
Though it's also illegal to bring yourself there too.
Here's now the government defines prohibited public assemblies. Critical infrastructure is a broad category which includes anywhere vaccines are administered. Parliament Hill is in a separate category.
Read 5 tweets
Andrew Lawton Profile picture
Feb 14
Tuned into a Twitter Space on which trucker convoy spokesperson @BJdichter is speaking. A few details about the financial situation of the convoy.
The ~$1 million released from the initial GoFundMe campaign to a TD Bank account has been frozen by TD and is supposed to be, Dichter says, transferred to a trust account held by the convoy's lawyer, Keith Wilson. This has not happened yet.
Convoy organizers had requested a transfer from the GiveSendGo campaign (the platform used after GoFundMe spiked initial campaign) just before the Ontario Superior Court issued order freezing funds. When this happened, Dichter says convoy had GiveSendGo reverse transfer.
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @AndrewLawton has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @AndrewLawton!

Read all threads by @AndrewLawton

:(