OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Two of the Freedom Convoy’s co-organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, have been arrested by Ottawa police, as Justin Trudeau’s Emergencies Act continues to be debated in Parliament.
Footage emerged late February 17 and early February 18 of two of the Convoy’s co-organizers being apprehended by Ottawa Police and taken into custody.
Chris Barber was arrested Thursday, as Ottawa Police apprehended him while walking down Albert Street, after police announced an intensifying law enforcement presence and warned of “imminent” action to remove the Freedom Convoy.
Ottawa Police have arrested Freedom Convoy leader Chris Barber “Big Red” whom I interviewed for my Townhall series. This is more of @JustinTrudeau and his police state. #TrudeauForTreason #TruckersForFreedom pic.twitter.com/I3DUWB5gTq
— David Krayden (@DavidKrayden) February 17, 2022
BREAKING: Freedom Convoy protest organizer Chris Barber got arrested in Ottawa as he was walking down the street. https://t.co/oFSoJ2ez4I pic.twitter.com/6Itq8ypRKR
— Yanky 🐊 🚚🚛🚜 (@Yanky_Pollak) February 17, 2022
Some hours later, fellow organizer Tamara Lich was also arrested by police, calling back to fellow members of the convoy “hold the line” as she was escorted by police into the vehicle.
Tamara Lich has been arrested, but we will continue to #holdtheline pic.twitter.com/GaPZdsrhVe
— FreedomConvoy2022 (@rFreedomConvoy) February 18, 2022
Tamara Lich was simply standing on a sidewalk and Trudeau’s gestapo arrested her. This is not normal.
— Keean Bexte (@TheRealKeean) February 18, 2022
An update provided by the Freedom Convoy announced that Barber had been charged with “counselling to commit mischief, obstruction, counselling to commit obstruction.”
Lich has been charged with “counselling to commit mischief.”
Shortly before Barber and Lich were arrested, Lich had posted to social media warning that such an eventuality was “inevitable,” but saying “I’m not afraid.”
“There’s a pretty good chance — well I think it’s inevitable at this point — but, uh, I’ll probably be going somewhere tomorrow [Thursday] where I’ll be getting three square meals a day. And that’s OK, and I want you to know that I’m not afraid,” Lich said.
She also warned of attempts by authorities to portray the Convoy as violent. “You have to know that they’re trying to provoke. You hear the language and the verbiage that they’re using, and that is not coming from us.”
Shortly before his officers arrested Barber and Lich, Ottawa’s Interim Police Chief Steve Bell had warned of increased police action against the Convoy. “We going to take back the entirety of the downtown core and every occupied space. We are going to remove this unlawful protest. We will return our city to a state of normalcy.”
“I can tell you it will be a very different picture in the downtown core this weekend than it has been from the previous three weekends,” Bell declared.
Bell also told reporters that he would “have children removed from the area prior to any sort of police action.”
Yet speaking on Thursday, February 3, Lich re-itereated the Convoy’s commitment to peaceful action, saying “we are here out of love for our families, our communities, and our nation.”
“These past two years of COVID-19 mandates have divided us.”
One day prior to her arrest, Lich had spoken on behalf of the Convoy when presenting the Convoy’s seven point “Road Map to Freedom,” calling on the federal government to end the COVID vaccine mandates.
“We have no intention of acting outside the realm of this democratic process” within which change occurs, Lich stated.
The Road Map, drawn from conversations with freedom-loving Canadians, was sent to “all Federal and Provincial leaders,” Lich announced.
In response to the Freedom Convoy, which has remained peaceful throughout, Trudeau’s recently invoked Emergencies Act continues to be debated in Parliament.