Protesters Staying Put at US-Canada Border, Negotiators Working on Resolving Situation

WINDSOR (Sputnik) - About 200 protesters remain at the US-Canada border, although police have managed to push demonstrators back from the customs area, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

Significant law enforcement resources, including helicopters, remain in place and some police officers are equipped with tear gas guns, the Sputnik correspondent reported on Saturday afternoon. It appears that there are also snipers present.

One police officer said that negotiators are working on resolving the situation.

There is very poor reception in the area, which could mean that communication is being jammed.

Some protesters are leaving the area, but there are also others who are coming in, so it appears that the demonstrators, about 200 in total, are staying put for now, according to the Sputnik correspondent.

A Canadian judge ordered authorities to clear the blockade at the US-Canada border starting at 7:00 p.m. EST (midnight GMT) on Friday. A Sputnik correspondent reported that the protesters continued to block the Ambassador Bridge despite the court-ordered injunction.

In mid-January, a mass peaceful protest began in Canada consisting of truckers, farmers and other Canadians. The so-called "Freedom Convoy" protesters descended on the capital Ottawa to demand the government scrap discriminatory COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

The protest has since spread and truckers also blocked several US-Canada border crossings, including the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Friday that the Canadian province was declaring a state of emergency in connection with the trucker protest. The premier called the protest at the Ambassador Bridge a siege and an illegal occupation.

Earlier this month, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency for the city due to the ongoing "Freedom Convoy" protests.