Heavily-armed police presence near Parliament for 'ongoing investigation'

spaminator

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Heavily-armed police presence near Parliament for 'ongoing investigation'
“No public safety threat has been identified.”

Author of the article:Aedan Helmer
Publishing date:Jun 11, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 2 minute read • 71 Comments

Parliament Hill was evacuated Saturday and a massive police presence descended on downtown in response to a potential “public safety threat,” Ottawa police said.


Police said Saturday evening they had received information about “a potential threat in the Parliament Hill area” earlier in the day.

Two “persons of interest” were located, and police said two “vehicles of interest” were also subject of the investigation.

Police did not announce any arrests, but noted their investigation remained open.

No public safety threat was identified, police said around 4 p.m., almost three hours after issuing their initial warning to motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area.

“In co-ordination with security and policing partners, officers began to clear the area, closing streets to vehicle and pedestrian traffic,” police said via Twitter. “No public safety threat has been identified.”


Police issued the initial warning about an “ongoing police investigation” at Parliament Hill around 1:30 p.m., with Wellington Street closed to traffic between Bronson Avenue and Elgin Street, and Metcalfe Street closed for several blocks near the Hill.

Parliamentary staffers also received a “situation advisory” for 111 Wellington St. — Centre Block — and were told by Parliamentary Protective Services to “shelter in place.”





“Please be advised there is an ongoing operation in order to deal with a possible threat,” the PPS alert read. “There has been a SHELTER IN PLACE order given for the (Parliamentary) Precinct, this entails no movements in or out of our buildings. Parliament Hill has been evacuated.”

Police shared little information during the “police action,” though social-media video showing a group of about 20 demonstrators fuelled speculation the two events could be related.

Police on Saturday would not say whether the investigation was related in any way to the demonstration.

A group of protestors chanting “Freedom!” was also congregating at the intersection of Metcalfe and Sparks Street as heavily-armed police patrolled Parliament.


Police had issued a warning of a “suspicious incident” in the area.

“Multiple streets are closed and there is a large police presence. Do not enter the area. Follow the direction of the officers,” an earlier tweet said.

Heavily-armed tactical police units patrolled downtown, while PPS guards were joined at the scene by military police, tactical paramedics and firefighters.

Investigators were seen with mirrors used to check under cars, and there was speculation that a black sedan parked in a loading zone near Parliament Hill may have been under suspicion.

Police would not confirm those details.

There were also media reports that arrests had been made and an announcement was imminent related to a potential terrorism-related threat. Ottawa police would not confirm those details, though they did later confirm they had spoken to two “persons of interest.”

With files from Ashley Fraser


 

spaminator

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Heavily-armed police presence near Parliament for 'ongoing investigation'
“No public safety threat has been identified.”

Author of the article:Aedan Helmer
Publishing date:Jun 11, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 2 minute read • 71 Comments

Parliament Hill was evacuated Saturday and a massive police presence descended on downtown in response to a potential “public safety threat,” Ottawa police said.


Police said Saturday evening they had received information about “a potential threat in the Parliament Hill area” earlier in the day.

Two “persons of interest” were located, and police said two “vehicles of interest” were also subject of the investigation.

Police did not announce any arrests, but noted their investigation remained open.

No public safety threat was identified, police said around 4 p.m., almost three hours after issuing their initial warning to motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area.

“In co-ordination with security and policing partners, officers began to clear the area, closing streets to vehicle and pedestrian traffic,” police said via Twitter. “No public safety threat has been identified.”


Police issued the initial warning about an “ongoing police investigation” at Parliament Hill around 1:30 p.m., with Wellington Street closed to traffic between Bronson Avenue and Elgin Street, and Metcalfe Street closed for several blocks near the Hill.

Parliamentary staffers also received a “situation advisory” for 111 Wellington St. — Centre Block — and were told by Parliamentary Protective Services to “shelter in place.”





“Please be advised there is an ongoing operation in order to deal with a possible threat,” the PPS alert read. “There has been a SHELTER IN PLACE order given for the (Parliamentary) Precinct, this entails no movements in or out of our buildings. Parliament Hill has been evacuated.”

Police shared little information during the “police action,” though social-media video showing a group of about 20 demonstrators fuelled speculation the two events could be related.

Police on Saturday would not say whether the investigation was related in any way to the demonstration.

A group of protestors chanting “Freedom!” was also congregating at the intersection of Metcalfe and Sparks Street as heavily-armed police patrolled Parliament.


Police had issued a warning of a “suspicious incident” in the area.

“Multiple streets are closed and there is a large police presence. Do not enter the area. Follow the direction of the officers,” an earlier tweet said.

Heavily-armed tactical police units patrolled downtown, while PPS guards were joined at the scene by military police, tactical paramedics and firefighters.

Investigators were seen with mirrors used to check under cars, and there was speculation that a black sedan parked in a loading zone near Parliament Hill may have been under suspicion.

Police would not confirm those details.

There were also media reports that arrests had been made and an announcement was imminent related to a potential terrorism-related threat. Ottawa police would not confirm those details, though they did later confirm they had spoken to two “persons of interest.”

With files from Ashley Fraser


wonder if they were planning to enter parliament?
 

Ron in Regina

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So how many have been charged in this situation (?) so far to differentiate it from the February Ottawa ‘Terrorist’ claims of Russian financed misogynistic rapist racist gov’t overthrowing foreigners from outside of Ottawa showing up to honk horns and burn down apartment buildings while illegally parking (with ‘a side’ of protest)?
 

harrylee

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Mar 22, 2019
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Ontario
So how many have been charged in this situation (?) so far to differentiate it from the February Ottawa ‘Terrorist’ claims of Russian financed misogynistic rapist racist gov’t overthrowing foreigners from outside of Ottawa showing up to honk horns and burn down apartment buildings while illegally parking (with ‘a side’ of protest)?
Don't forget the bouncy castles.
 

spaminator

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Two Sikh rally organizers say they were wrongly arrested amid Parliament bomb scare
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Erika Ibrahim
Publishing date:Jun 13, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation

OTTAWA — Two organizers of a Sikh event near Parliament Hill on Saturday say they are still in shock after being wrongfully arrested in connection with a bomb threat, an experience one of the men described as “disrespectful” and “harassment.”


Manveer Singh, an organizer of a remembrance rally for the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India, said his group had received a permit to gather on the Hill, but when members arrived they were told they were not allowed to be there because of an ongoing threat in the area.

Parminder Singh, another organizer, said they relocated to the lawn in front of the Supreme Court of Canada nearby to hold their event.

A few minutes after the rally got underway, Manveer Singh said police arrested him and told him they had “credible information” that he was connected to a serious bomb threat on the Hill.

“They believed that I’m the one who’s gonna do that. I was shocked. I’m gathering my community here to bomb them?” he said, adding that police searched him, handcuffed him and brought him to the police station for questioning.


He said police asked to frisk his turban while searching him outside the Supreme Court.

“If I don’t obey their instructions they could have done anything to me, because the threat was very big, it was a security threat to the national Parliament.”

Parminder Singh said he was arrested not long afterward by Ottawa police, who told him that his name was connected to an alleged bomb threat of Parliament.

“It doesn’t make sense because I know I am not involved in anything. I’m proud as a Canadian Sikh. I love this country, I will do everything to protect this country,” he said.

“Why am I arrested? Because I’m wearing a turban and my skin is not white? What’s going on?” he added.

Ottawa police did not answer questions about the men’s account of events, saying only that the investigation into the matter is now concluded and no charges were laid.


The two organizers said that police also searched their cars for explosives.

When in police custody, both men said officers had them take off their turbans. Manveer Singh said he was also made to remove other religious symbols including a bracelet called a kara and a ceremonial sword known as a kirpan.

“They wanted me to untie my turban because they have to search very closely. Because I believe that I was the terrorist at that time in their eyes,” he said.

After being in custody for a short while, Parminder Singh said police released him and apologized, adding they arrested him based on wrong information.

The men said police told them that the information that connected them to the threat came from the Canada Border Services Agency.


Rebecca Purdy, spokesperson for Canada Border Services Agency, said in a statement Monday that the agency works regularly with law enforcement to ensure border security, including intelligence and enforcement.

The RCMP said Monday that it can only confirm details related to criminal investigations where charges have been laid.

Police said in a statement Saturday that they received information about a potential threat near the parliamentary precinct, prompting them to close some surrounding streets to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

The Parliamentary Protective Service also ordered an evacuation of Parliament Hill, issuing an alert to all members of Parliament and staff and noting all buildings in the precinct were to be under shelter-in-place orders until further notice.


Both of the Sikh rally organizers say they are worried about the damage done to their reputations as a result of being arrested in connection to the explosives threat.

Although police said they were conducting an investigation and if they did not find anything, they would release him, Parminder Singh said they should have done an investigation before arresting him.

“It’s deeply hurt my kids, my wife and also other community members,” Parminder Singh said, calling the experience “disrespectful” and “harassment.”

He said his group began organizing these rallies in 2017, to gather Sikhs from across Ontario and Quebec. Events have been cancelled over the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You’re arresting me doing a peacefully rally? I’ve been doing this for almost my whole life.”
 

spaminator

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False bomb threat tippers should be prosecuted: World Sikh Organization of Canada
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:Jun 14, 2022 • 18 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation

OTTAWA — The World Sikh Organization of Canada says Canadian law enforcement should fully investigate and prosecute those involved in providing the tip that led to the wrongful arrest of two organizers of a Sikh rally near Parliament Hill.


Tejinder Singh Sidhu, the organization’s president, says in a statement that the “hoax bomb threat” in connection to the Sikh rally is “deeply concerning.”

The two rally organizers say they were wrongfully arrested in connection with a bomb threat, an experience one of the men described as “disrespectful” and “harassment.”

The men are raising questions about who gave their names to investigators and why, as well as how police handled that information.

They were organizers of a remembrance rally for the victims of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India.

Police have not answered questions about the two men’s account of events and released few details about the “potential threat” that prompted an evacuation of Parliament and closure of surrounding streets for several hours on Saturday.