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January 25th, 2021 
Awake Goy
Second week of arrests at Toronto lockdown protest
- By Rebel News
- January 23, 2021
Fight The Fines
Reporting on and fighting the pandemic fines.
For a second straight weekend, protesters in Toronto attempted to gather in defiance of lockdown and stay-at-home orders issued by Premier Doug Ford.
And, much like last weekend, police issued several tickets and arrested protesters as they assembled downtown at Yonge-Dundas Square.
Unlike last week, however, the officers were quick to act in their effort to disrupt demonstrators.
Click here to watch David Menzies full report from last weekend’s demonstration
One man was arrested very early in the gathering, and seemed extremely distressed by the incident, yelling that officers were hurting him and that “he was going to have a heart attack.” He was dragged by a pair of officers to a Court Services wagon parked nearby.
Police eventually escorted that individual to an ambulance for a medical evaluation.
In a separate arrest, multiple officers tackled a man draped in a Canadian flag to the ground. Bystanders yelled at the officers as they formed a circular perimeter around the area.
As the protest began, police stopped one woman and demanded she identify herself. “Now you’re under investigation,” an officer says to the protester, while another demands a Rebel News cameraman move back.
Another protester stopped to chat with Rebel News David Menzies, telling him that he thought Yonge-Dundas Square was more reminiscent of Tiananmen Square.
With police having taken over the square, protesters once again decided to march around the streets of Toronto.
The march eventually made its way to the seat of Ontario’s legislature, Queen’s Park.
Before that march started, however, there was another arrest as numerous officers cuffed a man in the street.
While the crowd stopped and assembled on the lawns of Queen’s Park, officers moved their presence there, forming a circle around the large group. While some protesters spoke to the officers, they decided to show that they were just “exercising” their rights as Canadian citizens.
“No more lockdowns” was a frequent refrain heard from the demonstrators as they marched through the streets of downtown.
A large group of demonstrators took over an intersection during the march, briefly pausing to sing O, Canada.
Eventually, the protesters split into multiple groups, with one contingent stopping at some businesses and going inside to buy a few essential goods.
While the group of protesters marched through the streets, a large presence remained at Yonge-Dundas Square, blocking the public space off from any attempt to assemble.
Near the end of the day’s events, a group of Rebel staff met up to exchange equipment before heading home. Police, however, deemed this brief assembly to be an issue, issuing cautions to the group.
In a different incident with the media, another officer deemed media unessential.
Alas, much like how the protest start with arrests at Yonge-Dundas Square, so too did the day end with arrests at Yonge-Dundas Square.
Stay tuned to Rebel News, as we’ll have a full report coming in the next few days after the footage is compiled.
Fight The Fines
Reporting on and fighting the pandemic fines.
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