Canadian police arrest 2 leaders of protesting truckers

By ROB GILLIES, WILSON RING and ROBERT BUMSTED
Associated Press

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) —  Hundreds of truckers clogging Canada’s capital stood their ground and defiantly blasted their horns Thursday, even as police arrested two protest leaders and threatened to break up the nearly three-week protest against the country’s COVID-19 restriction  The faceoff in Ottawa seems to be escalating as busloads of officers arrived Thursday near Parliament Hill. The city’s interim police chief says action is imminent. Protesters have besieged Ottawa for nearly three weeks in a demonstration that shaken Canada’s reputation for civility and rule-following. Police arrested two of the organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, but officers were not moving in force on the demonstrators.