The truckers in Canada have been protesting for approximately two weeks. The Canadian government is looking for ways to shut it down. So far they have been unsuccessful. At some point in the near future, they may resort to methods that are questionable in a so-called free society. On Wednesday, The U.K. Daily Mail posted an article about an instance where the police definitely used unnecessary force.

The article reports:

A 4ft-10inch great grandfather was handcuffed and arrested by two Canadian cops for honking his horn in support of Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa on Sunday – a day before a judge outlawed blaring horns due to left-wing backlash against the anti-mandate protesters who have been smeared by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as ‘swastika-wavers’. 

A bystander filmed while two officers pulled over Gerry Charlebois, 78, for beeping his horn.

‘What did he do wrong?’ the bystander asked. ‘None of your f****** concern, man,’ one officer responded. 

The six-minute video shows officers shouting back and forth with furious onlookers and Charlebois as he protests his arrest. Eventually an officer in a blue surgical mask grabs Charlebois to restrain him, and brings the vaccinated great-grandfather down to his knees in the middle of the street before handcuffing him against his van. 

Charlebois sustained injuries to his arms, hands, shoulders and knees. He was later fined $118 for ‘unnecessary noise’ but has not been criminally charged.

An Ontario Superior Court Justice temporarily banned honking and air horn blowing for 10 days on Monday, after a lawsuit brought by a downtown resident who measured the noise in her apartment at more than 80 decibels during the protests, which began on January 29. 

The daily demonstrations, going on day 12, began as a protest against vaccine requirements for truckers who enter the country by land, but has since expanded to call for the dismantling of nearly all COVID-related restrictions.

Police have arrested 23 people and issued more than 1,300 tickets. 

Admittedly, Canada does not have a law protecting free speech (which I assume includes honking your horn in support), but the police reaction here seems a little over the top. Unfortunately, I suspect this is only the beginning of something that is going to be genuinely ugly.