Canadian Mounties seize weapons cache, arrest 13 in Alberta Freedom Convoy blockade

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday that they arrested 13 people and seized a cache of weapons and body armor from the "Freedom Convoy" protest blocking the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Coutts, Alberta. The RCMP said its weeklong investigation found that the 11 people arrested in the first sweep had "a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade." Two more people were arrested traveling to join the protest, one with two weapons in his car and the other after coming close to ramming one of the Mounties, police said.
One of the protest organizers, Marco Van Huigenbos, said after the arrests that "our objective was to be here peacefully" but "we were infiltrated by an extreme element." He said that "to keep that message going, we want to peacefully leave Coutts and return to our families," starting Tuesday morning.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told reporters on Monday that the seizure of guns and those who would wield them will allow the RCMP and provincial authorities to peacefully reopen the border crossing. "Now that the RCMP has successfully resolved this potential threat, they will proceed, I'm informed, with enforcement against others who are involved in the blockade."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kenny and the premiers of Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan said they did not require the federal government's emergency powers invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday. But Doug Ford, the Conservative premier of Ontario, supported the unprecedented emergency declaration. Police cleared the Ambassador Bridge border blockade in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, but the nation's capital, Ottawa, is still in a tense standoff with protesters who have used big-rig trucks to clog up the financial district and residential neighborhoods for more than two weeks.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that Trudeau's government may very narrowly use its emergency powers to freeze the bank accounts and void the vehicle insurance of anyone involved in unlawful demonstrations. Tamara Lich, a leader of the Ottawa occupation, dismissed Trudeau's move. "There are no threats that will frighten us," she told The Associated Press. "We will hold the line."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
July 12 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include generational ennui, tariffs on Canada, and a conspiracy rabbit hole
-
5 unusually elusive cartoons about the Epstein files
Cartoons Artists take on Pam Bondi's vanishing desk, the Mar-a-Lago bathrooms, and more
-
Lemon and courgette carbonara recipe
The Week Recommends Zingy and fresh, this pasta is a summer treat
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling