Honestly, they were terrorists.

Also if these were left-wing protesters they would have been teargassed and dragged into police vans on day one. Like the G20 in Toronto.

Which I don't hear a peep about from the same people who are wringing their hands about people who threatened the citizens of Ottawa and laid on their horns day and night for weeks.

Furthermore, if these events had happened on the US side of the border, DHS would have had a field day. We had people with guns blocking international borders. How do you all you Americans with your tears about "liberty" think that would have gone over on the US side? Kid gloves were used here in comparison.

I saw NAZI flags and pro-Putin signs all over the place, people defacing monuments, people keeping people up all night on horns, people threatening people walking on the street, cases of assault. Emergency vehicles and hospitals blocked.

It's only because the police refused to do their job, along with the provincial government, that the feds had to intervene.

This was an event that -- like Jan 6 -- was meant to try to take the elected government down. Organized by a group of far right activists who stated as much, and whose interests had nothing to do with truckers as they had organized other convoy events before about totally different issues (pipelines, etc.). And the vast majority of truckers were fine with the situation and the vast majority of the protesters were not "truckers."

I have no sympathy. Downvote away. I don't share in all the handwringing, and I don't believe in a "slippery slope" argument here. I've been on the receiving end of pepper spray and riot police before and I expected it. They should, too.

What we sadly have here, on the anniversary of January 6th, is the tacit acceptance of far right authoritarian putsch attempts as part of our political culture. And that's a disgusting return to the problems from that last century's 20s and 30s.