Police in Canada’s capital are investigating possible criminal charges after anti-vaccine protesters urinated and danced on the National War Memorial — and others were spotted carrying swastika flags.
Thousands of protestors descended on Ottawa on Saturday and Sunday to decry Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, as well as masks and lockdowns.
Videos emerged of protestors dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial, while others desecrated a number of other monuments in the city.
The statue of national hero Terry Fox, an athlete who lost a leg to bone cancer, was draped with an upside-down Canadian flag and a sign saying “mandate freedom.”
Some demonstrators — mostly made up of a huge convoy of truckers and their supporters — were also spotted carrying signs and flags with swastikas through the streets.
“Several criminal investigations are underway in relation to the desecration of the National War Memorial/Terry Fox statue, threatening/illegal/intimidating behavior to police/city workers and other individuals and damage to a city vehicle,” Ottawa Police said.
“Illegal behavior will not be tolerated and will be fully investigated.”
Trudeau, his wife and their children were reportedly moved from their home to a secret location in the capital as the thousands of protestors descended on the city.
The so-called “Freedom Convoy” initially started as a protest against a vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, but quickly grew into a mass demonstration against the Canadian government over COVID regulations.
The truckers and others were protesting a new rule that took effect on January 15 that requires truckers entering Canada be fully vaccinated against COVID.
Dozens of trucks were lined up in front of the Parliament buildings Saturday morning, including some who parked on the grounds of the National War Memorial.
Protestors compared the vaccine mandates to fascism, one truck carried a Confederate flag and many carried expletive-laden signs targeting Trudeau.
Many of the protestors remained on Sunday.
