Police Make Arrests, Put Up Barriers as Ambassador Bridge Blockade Dispersed in Windsor

Police in Windsor on Sunday moved in to clear the Ambassador Bridge border blockade, where Freedom Convoy demonstrators have been gathered for the last week shutting down traffic into Canada in protest of the country's vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions.

A court injunction granted on Friday lead to an increased police presence over the weekend, with a standoff on Saturday as officers slowly moved the crowd away from the entrance and exit to the bridge, the busiest land crossing between the United States and Canada. Local police, RCMP, OPP and others responded to the protest, some heavily armed along with multiple armoured vehicles behind the police line. Threats of hefty fines and jail time were levied by the Canadian government, as they sought to end the protest blockading traffic and causing some economic disruption on both sides of the border.

On Sunday, police pushed further forward and began making arrests of protesters that refused to disperse, with at least two detainments in the morning along with the towing of vehicles that did not clear the roadway. Concrete barriers have been brought in along Huron Church Road, and police occupied the streets near the bridge throughout the day.

Border traffic into Canada along the Ambassador Bridge remains closed as of early Sunday evening.