Canada police trample down civilians with horses in violent crackdown on convoy protests

In a violent crackdown on the ongoing truckers' protests in Canada, the police were seen 'trampling' over civilians with horses and brutally hitting demonstrators with rifle butts in Toronto.

Disturbing visuals from the Freedom Convoy protest site showed Toronto Police Mounted Unit officers charging into the crowd and at least one horse trampling multiple people — including an elderly woman with a walker. Another grotesque incident saw a protester behind a police line repeatedly being smashed with an officer’s rifle.

On Friday, Canadian police moved to clear the trucker-led demonstration against COVID-19 rules, arresting 70 people and towing away dozens of vehicles that have been choking streets of the Canadian capital for three weeks.

Police in buses reached near Ottawa’s Parliament Hill and they started sealing off much of the downtown area to stop the outsiders from coming to the aid of protesters.

But with hundreds of protesters with big rigs estimated to still be refusing to go, the gradual clearance process was likely to continue into the weekend.

Justin Trudeau declares an emergency, begins freezing bank accounts of truckers

Early this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked Canada's Emergencies Act, empowering law enforcement authorities to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks, arrest the drivers, suspend their licenses and take other measures.

On Thursday, Trudeau and some of his top ministers took turns warning the protesters to leave, in an apparent move by the government to avert a clash, or at least show it had gone the extra mile to avoid one.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government began freezing truckers' bank accounts as threatened. "It is happening. I do have the numbers in front of me," she said.

Ottawa police likewise handed out leaflets for the second straight day demanding the truckers end the siege, and also helpfully placed notices on vehicles informing owners how and where to pick up their trucks if they are towed.

Image: AP