Canadian police said Monday they have arrested 11 protesters with a “cache of firearms” blocking a border crossing between Coutts, Alberta and the US state of Montana, where they are demonstrating against COVID-19 health restrictions.
Three trailers were raided, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement, after it learned of “a small organized group within the larger Coutts protest… that had access to a cache of firearms with a large quantity of ammunition.”
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“The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade,” police said.
Rifles, handguns, body armor, a machete and “a large quantity of ammunition” was seized, the RCMP added, pointing also to a failed attempt by a large farm tractor and a semi truck to ram a police car the previous day.
The crossing between Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana has been clogged by protesters for several days, in solidarity with a demonstration in Ottawa now entering a third week.
The demonstrations started with Canadian truckers calling for an end to mandatory vaccines to cross the border into the US.
But its demands now include the lifting of all COVID-19 health measures and, for many of the protesters, for the toppling of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
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