Canada's police force have begun arresting "Freedom Convoy" protesters who blocked the Ambassador Bridge, a main throughway between Canada and Detroit in the U.S. They have also begun towing stalled vehicles blocking the way.
"Enforcement actions continue at the demonstration area with arrests being made. Vehicles being towed. Please continue avoiding the area," the Windsor Police took to Twitter to warn residents in the area on Sunday morning.
Late Saturday, the agency also took to Twitter to share that they arrested a 27 year old man at Huron Church Road at Millen Street for a "criminal offense in relation to the demonstration." They warned protesters, "Officers will intervene when necessary to ensure the safety of the public [and] maintain peace [and] order."
According to Fox News, Canadian police began arresting protesters after a judge ordered them to vacate the area on Friday. Police authorities said they were taking a "zero tolerance" approach to the situation to crack down on "illegal activity."
By the time police arrived on Ambassador Bridge, only two pickup trucks and less than a dozen protesters remained to block the road to the bridge. Later on, police barricades were installed. It was unclear when the bridge would reopen.
The Ambassador Bridge is known as the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and North America. It was shut down last week for the Freedom Convoy, in which Canadian truckers protested their country's COVID vaccine mandates. The blockage has caused backups in the Detroit area and in Canada.
Protests have also continued in the capital of Canada in Ottawa, with over 4,000 gathering to call upon Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to respond to their campaign. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister issued a stern warning against the protesters if they continued to block the area.
According to the Daily Wire, Trudeau had a "direct call" with President Joe Biden to talk about the protest on the North American border and how he brought up the topic of Americans joining in the protest. He said, "We discussed the American, and indeed global influences on the protest. We talked about the U.S.-based flooding of the 911 phone lines in Ottawa, the presence of U.S. citizens in the blockades, and the impact of foreign money to fund this illegal activity."
"President Biden and I both agreed that for the security of people and the economy, these blockades cannot continue," Trudeau said. "So make no mistake: the border cannot, and will not stay closed."
Trudeau is facing criticism from within his own party over the handling of the Freedom Convoy. Two Liberal Party lawmakers urged the Canadian leader to develop a plan to safely bring the country out of COVID restrictions.
Liberal MP Joel Lightbound said in a Tuesday press conference that it was time to "stop dividing Canadians" and that he observed how "both tone and the policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during the last election campaign."
Lightbound called upon the Prime Minister to "stop with the division and the distractions" and "choose positive, not coercive methods" while calling "for more humanism, for more reason, for more hope."
