'Several arrests' made at competing Calgary protests

Multiple arrests have been made at the freedom rally and counter-protest demonstrations in Calgary today, following a court injunction which placed restrictions on protesting in the city.

Earlier in the week, Calgary's city council voted 13-2 in favour of sending a letter to the police commission asking officers to prioritize bystanders and businesses in the downtown core. An injunction forbidding the blocking of traffic on roads and sidewalks, walking on the road and restricting pedestrians accessing amenities was granted. It also placed a ban on using parks in a way that may disrupt others' use, as well as a noise restriction barring the unnecessary use of horns or other noise-making devices.

Calgary police confirmed 'several arrests' were made at Central Memorial Park in a statement posted to Twitter.

Rebel News reporter Syd Fizzard documented the tense situation last week when a group of counter-protesters became engaged with the weekly “United For Freedom” rally. While covering this week's events, Fizzard was handed a notice of the injunction by police.

Despite a request not to gather from police, both groups showed up.

One speaker from the freedom rally side tried to encourage the crowd to adhere to the orders of the injunction, as the demonstration shifted to city hall in an attempt to comply with the rules.

Eventually, officers moved to enforce the court order.

Officers began making arrests at Central Memorial Park after an incident between members of the opposition protests. One officer can be seen aggressively shoving two counter-protesters to the ground when charging onto the scene.

Police then began pushing the protesters out of the park and onto the sidewalk.

Just before 6 p.m., Calgary police announced the enforcement had come to an end at Central Memorial Park.

Rebel News

Staff

Articles written by staff at Rebel News to help tell the other side of the story. 

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