Spit and slurs: anti-mask protesters rally at The Forks

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This article was published 28/05/2021 (1617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than 100 people calling themselves “freedom fighters” showed up for an anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine and anti-mask rally Friday in Winnipeg — despite arrest warrants issued ahead of the event for key organizers and speakers.

Around 6 p.m. Friday, attendees trickled down to gather at The Forks, some with their children and others handing out barbecued hot dogs and propaganda flyers, in contravention of Manitoba’s public health orders.

At least four police cars were seen nearby, but it appeared no one was handed a ticket for violating COVID-19 protocols during the first couple hours of the rowdy protest.

A single uniformed officer was later spotted, but did not engage the crowd.

Loudspeakers blared mostly country music, until rally leaders and its speakers arrived. Among them, Lynne Nelson, a former coach and owner at Transcona CrossFit, who spent much of her speech spewing vitriol about Premier Brian Pallister, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin, and the “mainstream media.”

“As you all know, Chris Sky is not coming here today because of a stupid warrant out on his name — which is a disgusting shame,” Nelson told the crowd, as it booed loudly in response to news of the Ontario man who’s been travelling across the country to speak at such rallies, flouting multiple provincial pandemic orders.

That arrest warrant, issued by Manitoba’s public safety investigation unit, also included five other unidentified targets — one of whom had been arrested, police said (but not named).

The warrants were in the works for months and not connected to Friday’s scheduled rally, Winnipeg Police Service Insp. Nick Paulet told reporters earlier Friday.

Attendees became increasingly aggressive as other speakers began to show up — one who told them to “take off your masks and burn them,” to roaring applause.

Journalists and photographers had middle fingers waved at them, were called “pedophiles,” and told they were a “demon (n-word)” for covering the event, by speakers and attendees.

A Free Press reporter was spat on by two un-masked attendees.

“I don’t think anybody has a right to tell me I should follow made-up orders or get an unlicensed and experimental therapy drug injected in my body,” said one attendee, who asked to be called Jackie.

“My daughter believes in this, my house has signs in front about this truth we’re here to tell today,” she added. “And you know what? Even the police that drive by my place give me a thumbs-up because they believe in us, too.”

Jackie said she will keep showing up to rallies like Friday’s “until you guys — you monsters telling this made-up truth and your premiers and doctors — stop with your f—-ed-up nonsense.”

Manitoba announced a further 497 new cases of COVID-19 earlier Friday. There were 4,676 active cases in the province, with 312 people in hospital, 69 of them in intensive care.

temur.durrani@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @temurdur