Coutts Protest spokesman on RCMP arrests and firearms siezure

Duane Rolheiser

Published

2 years ago

3 minute read

A spokesman for the people protesting at Courts and Milk River is asking Canadians not to jump to conclusions following the news RCMP have seized a number of weapons and made 11 arrests.

Here is the RCMP release

Alberta RCMP make arrests at Coutts Border Blockade

The Alberta RCMP recently became aware of a small organized group within the larger Coutts protest. Information was received that this group had access to a cache of firearms with a large quantity of ammunition. The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade. This resulted in an immediate and complex investigation to determine the extent of the threat and criminal organization.

As a result of this investigation, the Alberta RCMP executed a search warrant during the early hours of Feb. 14, on three trailers associated to this criminal organization. This resulted in the arrest and detainment of 11 individuals.

As result of these search warrants, the following was seized:

13 long guns
handguns
multiple sets of body armour
a machete
a large quantity of ammunition
high capacity magazines

An example of the militant mindset of a small segment of the protest, earlier in the evening, at approximately 8:00 p.m., a large farm tractor and a semi truck, both involved in the blockade, attempted to ram a police vehicle. The police officer was able to reposition and avoid the collision. RCMP officers followed the suspects to a location where the protesters were gathered. The driver of the tractor was identified and we are actively working to locate him so he can be taken into custody. The Alberta RCMP have seized the farm tractor and semi truck involved in this incident.

The Alberta RCMP wants to emphasize that our primary goal throughout this event has been and will continue to be the safety of the public, as well as our officers.

The Alberta RCMP will resume efforts to end the illegal blockade which has prevented access to the Coutts border. We encourage all participants who are involved in this illegal action to leave immediately or relocate to the designated site for the legal protest.

The Alberta RCMP will provide further updates as they become available.

Protest spokesman Jory Evans says organizers can confirm that these people were not ‘with’ the trucker protest and if they had ill intent, he’s glad RCMP have rounded them up. Evans refers in the video to a shocking admission from RCMP that they have sabotaged 3 excavators near the protest, since they suspected they might be used in the future in some way. Click on the video to see a short statement from Evans.

Related Topics:#CouttsAlberta #CouttsArrests #CouttsBlockade #CouttsRCMP #JoryEvans feature

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After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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