Toronto police make more arrests, issue more charges to lockdown protesters

Toronto police make more arrests, issue more charges to lockdown protesters
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Toronto police continued to make arrests and lay charges at weekend demonstrations against lockdowns, as Canada's largest city surpassed its third straight month of tight lockdowns.

Having been placed in Ontario's Grey Zone lockdown classification back on November 23, 2020, many businesses remain shuttered in Toronto, despite cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19 plummeting across not just the province, but in Canada and the rest of the world.

With lockdown restrictions still in place, protesters yet again took to the streets of downtown Toronto to rally against these measures.

Officers gathered around the usual meeting spot for demonstrators, having effectively blocked the group from gathering at Yonge-Dundas Square as they had for numerous months prior to a major crackdown that occurred on January 16.

The first protester arrested refused to provide police with identification, as required by the province's Emergency Act and stay-at-home order, in spite of a previous insistence from Toronto police that individuals would not have to explain why they were outdoors.

“Officers can exercise discretion in every situation, but where there is evidence of non-compliance, officers will be ticketing and issuing summonses for individuals and businesses,” Deputy Chief Myron Demkiw said back on January 14.

One man who was arrested last week at the demonstration spoke about what happened to him following his detainment.

“I'd been arrested 12:15, at noon, on Saturday and been released almost 12 o'clock at night on Monday,” the man explained.

Another individual was detained for carrying a protest sign, as has become commonplace at these protests, with Rebel News having overheard an order directing officers to do so last weekend. An officer also shoved Rebel videographer Efron Monsanto, who was trying to record the arrest.

A second angle of the arrest can be seen below:

Despite the efforts by police to break up the demonstrators, the rally continued on as it has every week since April 2020, with protesters marching through the streets of downtown Toronto.

Rebel News reporter David Menzies was on hand once again this weekend and will be filing a full video report later this week — stay tuned for more coverage.

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