Heavy police presence keeps motorcycle protest under control in Ottawa

Ottawa: Ottawa police officers on Saturday continued their enhanced operations in the downtown area of Canada's capital city to manage protests and events of this weekend's Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally.

Ottawa Police said in a news release that three people have been arrested on the second day. Other enforcement actions since Friday morning included 560 parking tickets, 39 vehicles towed and eight tickets for noise, smoking and encumbering highway.

The protest is billed as an event to support Canadian veterans, with many veterans attending, although the "Rolling Thunder Ottawa" website gives no reason for the event. Some protesters are opposed to COVID-19 mandates.

It was estimated that between one and two thousand people showed up on Saturday, a far cry from February's numbers.

The city of Ottawa has brought in tight restrictions in anticipation of this weekend's protest to avoid a repeat of the anti-mandate convoy's occupation in late January and February, during which Downtown Ottawa was occupied for three weeks, resulting in a public order emergency.