The commission heard from convoy initiator Chris Barber on Nov. 1 and he said his plan was to protest the vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the border. The movement eventually evolved into demanding the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions.

USE PORT HURON, NON-TRUCK TRAFFIC USE WINDSOR TUNNEL@Modernize75 — MDOT - Metro Detroit (@MDOT_MetroDet) February 9, 2022 The Windsor protest is in solidarity with the ongoing truckers' "Freedom Convoy" demonstration in Ottawa.

The three-week-long protests saw massive convoys of the truckers and supporters gathering at the national capital starting in late January.

A trucker who drove into protesters across the I-35 West freeway bridge in Minneapolis was released without charges, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, pending a further investigation into the matter.

She also cites the example of the Liberal government invoking the Emergencies Act in February in response to the truckers-inspired convoy protests over COVID-19 mandates.

People gather in El Monte, Calif., to show support for truckers partaking in a convoy from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C in protest of mask and vaccine mandates on Feb. 25, 2022.

The blacklist was distributed on Feb. 14—the day the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act, using it as a means to quash protests opposing COVID-19 mandates and restrictions by truckers and their supporters in Ottawa and across the country.

Perkins-McVey said Barber’s son claimed he did not know Big Red was being used to block streets, but under cross-examination he said he drove the truck to the protest and assisted Barber in dealing with the truckers.

After those two days at the Windsor protest, he said he joined the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. “We were just trying to protest" federal COVID-19 restrictions that required cross-border truckers to be vaccinated, he said.

The Ottawa police have warned of “parallel groups” or counter-protesters who could be intent on using violence in the capital on Jan. 29 when the various convoys arrive at the destination and morph into a protest.

The Freedom Convoy protest originated as a demonstration against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for truckers traversing the Canada–U.S. border, but expanded into a broader movement opposing various pandemic-related mandates and restrictions.

Crown prosecutors say Artur Pawlowski's impassioned speech to the truckers in Coutts, Alta., in February 2022 fanned the flames of unrest and convinced them to stay at the border crossing for another two weeks.

A majority (56 percent) of Canadians do not support the truckers who are protesting in any way, shape, or form .... This is a majority view held in every province/region across the country.”

In February 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—in an unprecedented action, at least in modern terms—froze the bank accounts of truckers who formed "Freedom Convoys" protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

“Instead of, ‘don't join al-Qaeda,’ now they're saying, ‘don't vote for Donald Trump,’ or ‘don't join the Canadian trucker protests,’ or ‘don't join the Yellow Vest movement.’

In a social media post on Jan. 24, which has since been removed, the constable called the truckers who went to Ottawa to protest “true heroes.”

The protest was a culmination of a group of Canadian truckers and their supporters who drove from Western Canada to Ottawa to challenge government vaccine mandates.

"This trucker vax policy is obviously just dumb political theatre," the message said, apparently referring to a federal policy requiring COVID-19 vaccination for cross-border truckers.

People gather in El Monte, Calif., to show support for truckers partaking in a convoy from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in protest of coronavirus mandates on Feb. 25, 2022.

A convoy of truckers started off from Vancouver on Jan. 23, 2022, on its way to protest against the mandate in the capital city of Ottawa.

Treatment of Protesters During his speech, Mr. Trump also mentioned the Freedom Convoy protesters from 2022, comparing the way they were treated by the government to the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests.

In response to the demonstrations, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, which gave it expanded powers to end the protest by freezing protesters' bank accounts and to commandeer tow truck drivers to remove the truckers' vehicles

Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski has been found guilty of mischief for encouraging truckers to continue their blockade of the Coutts Canada–United States border crossing during the Freedom Convoy protest, a Lethbridge judge has ruled. "Mr.

Herrera's death triggered three days of road blockades and protests by fellow truckers and sympathizers throughout the country amid demands for solutions to the nation's spiraling migration crisis.

What the government did to truckers and supporters in the ensuing protest is well known and doesn’t need repetition here.

The Freedom Convoy protest of 2022 began as a demonstration against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for truckers traversing the Canada-U.S. border, but became a larger movement opposing various pandemic-related mandates and restrictions.

The most blatant example of private sector interfering with the public is the banks that froze the accounts of Canadian truckers when they were protesting for the COVID shots and mandates.

Less than two years later, truckers along with thousands of other Canadians assembled peacefully in Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates. The prime minister refused to meet with them and left town.

This singular protest is something far beyond a simple group of truckers who want the right to eschew vaccinations. Opposition to the convoy has been swift, vitriolic, and almost panicked.

The Mexican-American Federation of Truck Drivers, along with several other industry groups, had scheduled a demonstration by truckers on a busy highway outside Mexico City on Monday to protest the wave of killings of truck drivers during highway robberies