After declaring a state of emergency on Sunday, 6 February, noting that the trucker's protests were out of control, the Ottawa police on Tuesday said that 23 arrests had been made as a result of the 'unlawful demonstrations,' The Guardian reported.
A total of 80 cases have been registered against the protesters.
Beginning late Monday, the trucks jammed the Ambassador Bridge link between the cities of Detroit and Windsor, stalling the to and fro movement between the US and Canada.
8,000 trucks are believed to cross the Ambassador bridge on a routine day, as it makes for an important trade route between the two nations.
According to the report, traffic towards the US was crawling, while no entry was possible into Canada from the bridge, with drivers being advised to divert to nearby Port Huron to head into the country.
Meanwhile, Canada's capital of Ottawa remained blockaded by hundreds of vehicles from the “Freedom Convoy.”
Stretching for blocks in the heart of Ottawa, lines of trucks are parked, decorated with signs calling for an end to vaccine mandates – or "Freedom".
According to BBC, nearly 500 such trucks are in Ottawa's downtown at the moment.
Concerns Over Presence of Far-Right Groups
The Ottawa police have expressed their misgivings at the presence of the far-right groups amongst the protesters, and the extremism they had indulged in the past few days.
There have been instances of racial and homophobic abuse too, as well as some dancing on the National War Memorial, reported BBC.
Deputy police chief Steve Bell warned the protesters against flocking the site, saying that if they came, there would be consequences.
The Ottawa police are reportedly looking into multiple cases of hate crimes and property loss.
They had earlier found the presence of children in around 100 trucks in the who could be at risk during the rally, and reported the same to Children's Aids Society, as per a BBC report.
How and Why Did the Protests Begin?
The truckers protests began on 15 January, as a cry to end the vaccine mandate for truckers crossing over to the US, but soon escalated to a call to end the COVID restrictions in Canada. Donald Trump and Elon Musk had supported the demands of the protestors.
The protestors, under the umbrella of 'Freedom Convoy,' have been asking for a meeting with the Canadian authorities, save Justin Trudeau, as an attempt to discuss a resolution.
Trudeau, however, called for a stop to the protests, remarking that the "individuals were trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our daily citizens lives."
While an Ontario court passed the orders to stop the continued honking by the trucks on the appeal of local residents, the noise could be heard even after the same, as per reports in The Guardian. There are fears of similar agitations arising in other parts of Canada and the US in the coming days.
(With inputs from BBC and The Guardian.)
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