Hundreds of police at temporary Ottawa HQ, multiple arrests of Rolling Thunder protesters Friday night in and around 'Exclusion Zone'
The growing police presence in Ottawa is in response to the Rolling Thunder bikers' convoy that began arriving in the city Friday night.
The bikers, many of whom are veterans of the Canadian military, came to âreclaimâ the National War Memorial and to protest remaining COVID measures and the use of the Emergencies Act against the peaceful truckers' Freedom Convoy to Ottawa in February.
OPP officer refuses to say why heâs in Ottawa this weekend. @TheMenzoid @lincolnmjayhttps://t.co/ys9Wa4SGV5 pic.twitter.com/vcx1fHyOxt
â Isabelle Rivoche (@isabellerivo) April 29, 2022
Ottawa interim police chief, Steve Bell, who oversaw the implementation of the Emergencies Act in the city in February, which resulted in weeks of incarceration for organizers of the previous convoy on minor charges, asset and bank account seizures and police brutality against protesters and journalists including Rebel News' Alexas Lavoie, created a so-called âexclusion zoneâ in the downtown core, allowing only âlawful trafficâ to enter.
Ottawa's interim police chief: "We have created an exclusion zone in the downtown area" and that this weekend there will be a "large and sustained police presence."
â Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) April 28, 2022
See the latest: https://t.co/Ku03mvgT40 pic.twitter.com/7QC8B8izpN
Rebel News journalists, David Menzies and Isabelle Rivoche, are part of a three-unit team of Rebel journalists in the nation's capital this weekend to document the treatment of peaceful demonstrators at the hands of police and to show the side of the protest the mainstream refuses to.
Reports are that as many as 800 RCMP officers have been authorized to work within Ottawa to assist local officers.
David and Isabelle were able to locate the temporary police headquarters at the EY Centre, 20 minutes outside of Ottawa:
Spotted at the EY Centre about 20 minutes outside of downtown Ottawa. We have seen Toronto, York and Durham Police officers here. There is a conference room inside this building that is filled with hundreds of Police officers. https://t.co/8hpC710hZK pic.twitter.com/b1OQYzOGFk
â Lincoln Jay (@lincolnmjay) April 29, 2022
On Friday afternoon, police teams could be seen gearing up:
Police are gearing up, itâs unknown what their plans are for the large crowd that has gathered just past Parliament Hill. https://t.co/ys9Wa4SGV5 for more. pic.twitter.com/99uVXRMBji
â Isabelle Rivoche (@isabellerivo) April 29, 2022
At one point, roughly one hundred officers formed a line in front of peaceful protesters on the street:
Nearly one hundred police are lined up in front of hundreds of peaceful protesters. Itâs unclear what they plan to do at the moment. https://t.co/ys9Wa4SGV5 pic.twitter.com/1vEuF7UMul
â Isabelle Rivoche (@isabellerivo) April 30, 2022
David's livestream from the streets of Ottawa Friday night shows arrests of peaceful protesters, pulled out of the crowd seemingly at random:
At Parliament Hill, the âpre-crimesâ unit of various law enforcement services are trying to shutdown peaceful protesters - and charge others with crimes they âmightâ commit. Minority Report has come to fruition in Justin Trudeauâs Canada https://t.co/fnCt8EiHac
â David Menzies (@TheMenzoid) April 30, 2022
To support the work of Rebel News journalists from within the Rolling Thunder bikers convoy protest in Ottawa, please visit www.ConvoyReports.com.

Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.
