Ottawa Police have moved in on peaceful Rolling Thunder demonstrators on Rideau street and begun making arrests.

While police have claimed there’s been an increase in crowd aggression, videos taken before the arrests were made tell a different story.

After police moved in, several vehicles were quickly abandoned and are now being towed.

As previously reported by The Counter Signal, videos taken from the ground before the arrests showed that the demonstration had taken on a spirit similar to the Freedom Convoy, with plenty of cars and trucks joining the biker convoy to honk horns while pedestrians waved Canadian flags and yelled “Freedom” over Trudeau’s continued travel ban on the unvaccinated.

Other flags seen show the nationwide range of supporters, with flags from BC to Quebec flying high. And yes, there were, of course, more than a few “F*ck Trudeau” flags.

Before the demonstration, organizers of Rolling Thunder said that while they wanted to come with the same spirit as the Freedom Convoy and bring peace and love to Ottawa, they are not directly affiliated with the trucker convoy. Instead, according to organizers, their primary objective is to honour veterans and lay a wreath at the National War Memorial, which police recently banned them from attending.

Before they reached Ottawa, Rolling Thunder released an official statement on their website to say that they were working with Ottawa Police to ensure that the demonstration remains lawful and intend to abide by all of the city’s laws, including traffic laws.

As per the statement, “We do not support blockades, obstruction of police performing their duties, damage to property, or hate and vitriol directed to the residents of Ottawa. We also encourage all participants of Rolling Thunder Ottawa to follow all legislation, including the Highway Traffic Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. Lastly, as seen during the lawful protest in Ottawa, spread as much peace, love and patriotism to your fellow Canadians as possible.”