Paul McLeod Profile picture
Feb 19, 2022 28 tweets 7 min read Read on X
"Walls are caving in" vibes downtown as police descend on the encampment in front of the Parliament buildings.
Police just charged 20 feet or so forward. The crowd fled back. Some people got pepper sprayed, the smell of it is now wafting in the air.
The police line is essentially at the main stage.
Stage POV
Feels like a last stand. One trucker just told me he will stay as long as he can but his truck is better off outside the city than smashed up inside it. Police seem about to storm the stage, warning us to get off now (we did)
Massive advance by police. Lots more gas in the air, but not a full tear gassing of the crowd. They've taken the whole intersection and are still advancing
Police emerging from the gas
Here's what the Metcalfe advancement looked like from the view of @MackLamoureux and I
A block down at the intersection with O'Connor police have closed off the rest of Wellington Street. The protesters are surrounded.
The current situation. We're pretty much kettled in.
Police rapidly advancing. I think they're forcing everyone down O'Connor. It's that or arresting a couple hundred people
The final moments of the three week old occupation of Wellington Street. Crowd's ability to push back has evaporated. "It's over, man" one guy says. Now pushing us down O'Connor. No mass arrests yet.
I spoke too soon. Looped around to Bank St and there's another group trying to hold on here. Not many protesters left. Mounted police are behind the line. Guy next to me got pepper sprayed before I got here. Police standing pat.
Handful of guys got pepper sprayed. A couple medics are helping clean their eyes.
"I don't understand why the police aren't stepping down. How brainwashed are they?" one woman says.
Clearly a lot of people have never been part of a demonstration ended by police before. Can't tell you how many expressions of shock and astonishment I've heard. "I can't believe this," "this is the craziest thing I've ever seen," "it's like we're in China" etc.
A "let's go Brandon" chant just broke out.
Ottawa chic
Protesters expressing their anger through singing the national anthem
Some guy had been yelling "has anyone seen Gary??" so many times I was about to google because i thought i was missing some "let's go Brandon" type meme.

Anyway fuckin Gary just showed up so that's one mystery solved.
Tried to post a video but cell service getting bad. Protesters mounted a huge pushback and even succeeded in forcing the police back some. The resistance broke when police started pepper spraying.
Andrea (with pet pigeon Little Cloud) sums up the predominant mood among crowd: "We all knew it would come to an end but the way they're going about it is completely wrong.... A complete abuse of power... We've only been peaceful."
Still densely packed at the line but the crowd here is tiny in comparison to previous days. Around the corner on Sparks Street is another even smaller crowd. Feels kind of like it's grinding to a close.
A crowd has surrounded and is heckling Evan Solomon, yelling at him to tell the truth. He's gamely trying to continue his hit.

"Gotta admit, he's brave," one guy says to his wife. "Dumb though."
The number of small children around is unnerving. On Sparks Street some have built a snow fort and are playing in it. At least they're away from the police lines.
Uhh? (Yes that is a half US half Canadian flag)
Ottawa police say today they have arrested 47 people and removed 38 vehicles.
Yikes, all the tow truck drivers have covered their vehicles and are wearing bright yellow masks to hide their faces. The Emergencies Act gave the government the power to force to truck drivers to remove vehicles (with pay.) Reports were they were afraid to anger the protesters.

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More from @pdmcleod

Sep 12, 2022
I’ve read heartbreaking books about 9/11 but the piece of writing my brain recalls every year is the bizarre first-person account of the Toronto Star writer who happened to be in New York when the towers came down. Unfortunately for the Star, that person was their fashion editor.
Star fashion editor Bernadette Morra was in NY to cover the spring/summer 2002 showcases. When the attack on the World Trade Center happened she jumped into action by… attempting to file her fashion stories from her hotel.
The internet was down but she managed to dictate two full stories over the phone before some editor realized what was happening and (one imagines) screamed at her to head to the site of the terrorist attack.
Read 10 tweets
Feb 19, 2022
Ottawa police interim chief Steve Bell says the protesters were aggressive with police and they are now equipped with helmets and batons. Total number of arrested as of last update is 170.
Asked about reports of excessive force during arrests, Bell says they have a process for reviewing every arrest.
Bell says there is misinformation about when the mounted police unit charged yesterday. He claims images were photoshopped. He said two people were knocked to the ground and both immediately got back up and kept protesting.
Read 4 tweets
Feb 19, 2022
Tom Marazzo, one of the protest organizers not in jail, is holding a press conference. Aaaand we are off to a start with quite a quote: "First they came for the truckers, and I did not speak out because I was not a trucker. Then they came for the donors of truckers..."
"We are all in shock and we are currently organizing legal council for people injured by police brutality."

Three of hos fellow organizers have been arrested. Marazzo says some people's bank accounts have been frozen, including his.
"I'm certainly not a hero, I'm simply a father," Marazzo says, choking back tears.
Read 8 tweets
Feb 18, 2022
Quiet, cold, snowy morning in Ottawa. Waiting to see if this is the day police make their move.
At a downtown Tim Hortons, which I'm visiting for important journalism reasons, a group of protesters talk about what a hard week it's been. A man from Montreal says his guys trying to get in are being blocked by police. A woman advises to say they're staying at a downtown hotel.
Police say they're moving in and starting arrests. But first they'll have to find a way past this snow barrier on Rideau.
Read 38 tweets
Feb 17, 2022
Lots of honking started just now in downtown Ottawa
Pat King is rallying the troops on YouTube. I'm not seeing a crackdown so far
Ok police have totally choked ott the Sussex/Rideau camp. No evictions but police blocking every road
Read 15 tweets
Feb 16, 2022
Hard to know what to make of this. Obviously not much in and of itself, but could be the first step in police ramping up measures to push people out.
The question that I can't answer is how the hell do you tow all these vehicles away when every time a crowd of protesters crowd in to physically block you? Not to mention the trucks in camps outside the city that would move in to block you.
Does Ottawa have the capacity to arrest thousands of people/tow hundreds of vehicles before many more protesters respond to the call for reinforcements and drive in from all over the region? Seems hard to believe.
Read 4 tweets

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