(Photo : Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 18: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens during the first North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) since 2016 in the East Room at the White House November 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. The three leaders join the summit to “reaffirm their strong ties and integration while also charting a new path for collaboration on ending the COVID-19 pandemic and advancing health security; competitiveness and equitable growth, to include climate change; and a regional vision for migration.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau and his family were forced to flee the country's capital of Ottawa and move to a secret location after up to 50,000 truckers gathered in protest fighting against the nation's vaccine mandate and COVID-19 lockdowns.
The scene had hundreds of truckers driving their giant vehicles into the Canadian capital of Ottawa on Saturday as part of a self-titled "Freedom Convoy" that started as a protest against the country's mandates that were enforced on people who wanted to cross the U.S. border.
Trudeau Flees Capital
The situation comes a few days after Trudeau called the truckers who were driving towards the capital a "small fringe minority." The official's remarks came before the convoy grew to hundreds of vehicles that went as long as 45 miles while making their way to the capital.
On Thursday, the movement received an endorsement from Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The tech CEO posted a message on Twitter where he said "Canadian truckers rule" and noted that the movement has transformed into a cause celebre for many people on the right of politics in the United States, Dailymail reported.
Authorities made the choice to move Prime Minister Trudeau and his family to an undisclosed location as a precaution. Two years ago, officials reported that an armed soldier drove a truck into the gates of Rideau Hall, the Prime Minister's official residence, in an attempt to reach the country's leader.
In a statement, the Canadian parliament's Sergeant-at-Arms warned that politicians in the country could be at risk from the protesters. Roughly 10,000 protesters joined the truckers while walking on foot and voicing their anger at a wave of restrictions imposed by the national and provincial governments.
An estimated 100 trucks blockaded the road that ran past the Canadian parliament building amid the protest. In a statement, Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly voiced his concern about the possibility of a lone wolf attack, saying that the demonstrations were national in scope and massive in scale, Telegraph reported.
Truck Convoy Against Vaccine Mandates
Many of the truckers parked their vehicles on the ground of the National War Memorial and danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Other protesters carried signs and flags that had swastikas and used the statue of Canadian hero Terry Fox to display their anti-vaccine statement.
Some of the demonstrators were comparing Prime Minister Trudeau's vaccine mandates to fascism with one truck carrying a Confederate flag. Many others were carrying expletive-laden signs that targeted the official for his alleged unfair mandates.
Many others who joined the protest draped the statue of Fox, a national hero who lost a leg to bone cancer as a youngster, with an upside-down Canadian flag and a sign that said "mandate freedom."
The situation comes as one of Prime Minister Trudeau's children was infected with the coronavirus, prompting the official to isolate and work remotely in the last couple of days. The truck convoy also forced police authorities to prepare for the possibility of violence and warned residents to avoid downtown, Evening Standard reported.
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