- Tucker Carlson said trucker protesters are being treated like a ‘terror group’
- Justin Trudeau has accused the truckers of blockading Canada’s democracy
- Members of the Freedom Convoy protest have been arrested and charged with hate crimes
By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 23:31 AEDT, 8 February 2022 | UPDATED: 02:36 AEDT, 9 February 2022
Tucker Carlson has slammed the response to truckers protesting against vaccine mandates by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and other officials, with the Fox News host claiming the demonstrators are being treated like terrorists.
Trudeau has accused the truckers of ‘blockading’ Canada‘s democracy after they paralyzed Ottawa’s business district for over a week by blocking the roads.
And members of the Freedom Convoy protest have been arrested and charged with hate crimes, while Go Fund Me cut off funding for the protest organizers after determining that their efforts violated their terms of service.
Carlson has since hit out at this response, saying that the Canadian truckers are being treated like a ‘terror group’.
Tucker Carlson has slammed the response to truckers protesting against vaccine mandates by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and other officials, with the Fox News host claiming the demonstrators are being treated like terrorists
‘This is a peaceful, political protest. No one has shown any evidence to the contrary. It’s not a drug trafficking or human trafficking operation. It’s not Al Qaeda,’ Carlson said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.
‘These are Canadian citizens who drive trucks for a living, but they’re being treated like a terror group.’
The truckers themselves have strongly denied that they have ties to ultra-right-wing groups, insisting they are just ‘ordinary truckers’.
Carlson added: ‘GoFundMe announced it would redirect the $10 million raised by supporters of the truckers to charities of its choice, presumably BLM, which it has supported since the very beginning. In other words, GoFundMe planned to steal that money.’
But GoFundMe have said that all donations made to the Freedom Convoy fundraiser would be refunded automatically.
They had previously outlined a plan to distribute the funds to verified charities selected by the Freedom Convoy organizers – not selected by GoFundMe as Carlson claimed – but the organisation later decided to refund all donations to ‘simplify’ the process.
Carlson has since hit out at this response, saying that the Canadian truckers are being treated like a ‘terror group’
A protester affixes a flag to the top of a truck, parked beside another with a sign calling for the jailing of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, outside Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Monday
The truckers are protesting rules that say that any unvaccinated drivers have to quarantine for two weeks after crossing the US/Canada border in either direction.
Originally, both countries allowed an exemption for truckers to ease the supply chain crisis that has developed since covid hit, but Canada ended that exemption on January 15 and the United States followed suit a week later.
The convoy, which organizers claimed stretched up to 45 miles long, set out from Prince Rupert, on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, on January 22 and arrived in the nation’s capital last week.
Since then, Canadian authorities have taken an increasingly hard line, arresting seven people and opening 60 criminal investigations.
They also seized fuel and supplies for 1,000 vehicles Sunday and Ottawa mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency.
On Monday, Watson pleaded for almost 2,000 extra police officers to help quell the demonstrations.
‘Individuals are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our fellow citizens’ daily lives,’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an emergency debate in Parliament, while the protest continued outside. ‘It has to stop.’
Trudeau said everyone is tired of COVID-19 but this is not the way. He said the restrictions won’t last forever and noted that Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. ‘Canadians trust science,’ Trudeau said.
‘A few people shouting and waving swastikas does not define who Canadians are.’
Carlson slammed Trudeau for his response and said: ‘Consider what’s happening right now in Canada. Thousands of truck drivers have descended on Ottawa, the capital city, to protest the tyranny of Justin Trudeau’s government.
Justin Trudeau does not like truck drivers. He thinks they’re revolting. Justin Trudeau likes private equity barons and tech moguls, the only people who give him money.’
Carlson added: ‘Trudeau is not in Ottawa right now. In fact, he and his family fled when the truck drivers arrived and they’ve been in hiding ever since. So when the revolution he has been calling for finally arrived, Justin Trudeau wasn’t there to see it. He ran away in terror, kind of sad.’
Protests have occurred across Canada. A truck-convoy protest near the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest border crossing between Canada and the U.S., caused long traffic backups along the span from the Detroit side of the Detroit River.
And in Alaska, more than 100 truck drivers rallied in support of their counterparts in Canada by driving the 10 miles from Anchorage to Eagle River, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Many members of the GOP have made comments supporting the demonstrations, including former President Donald Trump, who called Trudeau a ‘far left lunatic’ who has ‘destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates.’
Protesters have said they will not leave until all vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. They also called for the removal of Trudeau’s government, though it is responsible for few of the restrictive measures, most of which were put in place by provincial governments.
Prominent Republicans including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton complained after crowdfunding site GoFundMe said it would refund the vast majority of the millions of dollars raised by demonstrators.
The site said it cut off funding for protest organizers after determining that their efforts violated the site’s terms of service by engaging in unlawful activity. Ontario Provincial Premier Doug Ford has called the protest an occupation.
In response, Paxton tweeted: ‘Patriotic Texans donated to Canadian truckers’ worthy cause.’ Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on Fox News that ‘government doesn’t have the right to force you to comply to their arbitrary mandates.’
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino shot back: ‘It is certainly not the concern of the Texas attorney general as to how we in Canada go about our daily lives in accordance with the rule of law.’
‘We need to be vigilant about potential foreign interference… Whatever statements may have been made by some foreign official are neither here nor there. We’re Canadian. We have our own set of laws. We will follow them,’ Mendicino said.
In a letter to Trudeau and the public safety minister, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said ‘what was initially described as a peaceful protest has now turned into a siege of our downtown area’ with 400 to 500 trucks.
He asked for 1,800 additional police officers. That would nearly double the existing resources of the entire Ottawa Police Service, which has 2,100 police and civilian members.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister of intergovernmental affairs, blamed the GOP interference for inciting disorderly conduct and helping to fund entities that are not respecting Canadian law. Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said Paxton was wrong for commenting on it.
Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, said groups in the U.S. need to stop funding and interfering in the domestic affairs of America’s neighbor.
On the street in front of Parliament Hill were thousands of signs ranging from ‘no more mandates’ and ‘freedom of choice’ to ‘truck you Trudeau’ and some compared vaccine mandates to fascism.
Trudeau has called the protesters a ‘fringe,’ but he faces calls by the opposition Conservative party to extend an ‘olive branch’ to them. Some Conservative lawmakers, including one running to lead the party, have met and posted for pictures with them.
A trucker fist bumping a supporter during the protest at Queens Park to support the truckers and denounce the government policy of mandatory vaccination in Toronto, Canada
A trucker receives a drawing from a supporter on February 5, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada
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Trudeau has accused the truckers of ‘blockading’ Canada’s democracy after they paralyzed Ottawa’s business district for over a week by blocking the roads
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‘This is a peaceful, political protest. No one has shown any evidence to the contrary. It’s not a drug trafficking or human trafficking operation. It’s not Al Qaeda,’ Carlson said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.
‘These are Canadian citizens who drive trucks for a living, but they’re being treated like a terror group.’
The truckers themselves have strongly denied that they have ties to ultra-right-wing groups, insisting they are just ‘ordinary truckers’.
Carlson added: ‘GoFundMe announced it would redirect the $10 million raised by supporters of the truckers to charities of its choice, presumably BLM, which it has supported since the very beginning. In other words, GoFundMe planned to steal that money.’
But GoFundMe have said that all donations made to the Freedom Convoy fundraiser would be refunded automatically.
They had previously outlined a plan to distribute the funds to verified charities selected by the Freedom Convoy organizers – not selected by GoFundMe as Carlson claimed – but the organisation later decided to refund all donations to ‘simplify’ the process.
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Carlson has since hit out at this response, saying that the Canadian truckers are being treated like a ‘terror group’
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A protester affixes a flag to the top of a truck, parked beside another with a sign calling for the jailing of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, outside Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Monday
Drone view of freedom convoy base camp in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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The truckers are protesting rules that say that any unvaccinated drivers have to quarantine for two weeks after crossing the US/Canada border in either direction.
Originally, both countries allowed an exemption for truckers to ease the supply chain crisis that has developed since covid hit, but Canada ended that exemption on January 15 and the United States followed suit a week later.
The convoy, which organizers claimed stretched up to 45 miles long, set out from Prince Rupert, on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, on January 22 and arrived in the nation’s capital last week.
Since then, Canadian authorities have taken an increasingly hard line, arresting seven people and opening 60 criminal investigations.
They also seized fuel and supplies for 1,000 vehicles Sunday and Ottawa mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency.
On Monday, Watson pleaded for almost 2,000 extra police officers to help quell the demonstrations.
‘Individuals are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our fellow citizens’ daily lives,’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an emergency debate in Parliament, while the protest continued outside. ‘It has to stop.’
Trudeau said everyone is tired of COVID-19 but this is not the way. He said the restrictions won’t last forever and noted that Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. ‘Canadians trust science,’ Trudeau said.
‘A few people shouting and waving swastikas does not define who Canadians are.’
Coercion Code - "Dark Times are upon us" 
“Ontario Premier Orders GiveSendGo To Freeze Funds For Anti-Mandate Protesters”
Less than a week after GoFundMe, at the behest of the Mayor of Ottawa and Justin Trudeau, summarily closed their fundraiser which had exceeded $10 million, Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford, has issued an order that essentially freezes any funds that have been raised thus far from the alternate crowdsourcing site ‘GiveSendGo’.
https://www.activistpost.com/2022/02/ontario-premier-orders-givesendgo-to-freeze-funds-for-anti-mandate-protesters.html
interesting … the game of chess