Canadian police on Saturday deployed pepper spray and stun grenades in a continuing effort to break up the blockade of trucks and demonstrators that has occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks in a protest against pandemic protocols. Some accounts indicated that authorities escalated crowd control efforts, with reports that police with rifles approached protesters and smashed truck windows. Police dispersed part of the blockade and made more than 100 arrests on Friday. They made more arrests on Saturday morning to clear the main area of the blockade, in front of the prime minister’s office and parliament. The New York Times reported that police in riot gear pushed the crowd back, upsetting a table displaying spurious claims about vaccines. Officers moved forward “truck by truck”, the Times reported, pushing demonstrators back. Some protesters were pushed over, as the crowd chanted “Shame on you”. In a tweet addressed to the truckers, police said: “We told you to leave. We gave you time to leave. We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses. “Based on your behaviour, we are responding by including helmets and batons for our safety.” Police also employed loudspeakers to warn protesters to disperse or face arrest. The loud bangs of stun grenades were audible and onlookers witnessed people being pepper-sprayed. Police claimed demonstrators were throwing smoke canisters. Most of the trucks that were parked in front of parliament for weeks drove away as police approached. Police cleared all protesters from Wellington Street, the demonstration’s core area, by mid-morning on Saturday, the Times said. Authorities also erected barricades. The number of protesters had dropped significantly. Many of the main protest organizers were arrested. Some reportedly left. Police, who were accused of using heavy-handed tactics, especially in deploying Mounties on horseback, claimed there were no serious injuries. “We hear your concern for people on the ground after the horses dispersed a crowd,” they said. “Anyone who fell got up and walked away. We’re unaware of any injuries.” The demonstrators first gathered in protest of cross-border Covid-19 vaccine requirements for truck drivers. Their blockade transformed into a broader protest against the government and prime minister, Justin Trudeau. “This is our final stand … When it ends, it ends and it’s in God’s hands,” said Jeremy Glass, a protester from Shelburne, Ontario. “At the end of this, we all need to get back to unity and get rid of this division.” Trudeau used emergency powers to end the protests. Lawmakers were poised to debate the temporary powers on Friday but the House of Commons suspended its session, citing police activity. A truck driver from Manitoba, who gave his name only as Gord, said he could no longer work because of cross-border vaccine requirements. “Our demands aren’t ridiculous,” he told Reuters. “We want mandates and lockdowns dropped.” After the number of protesters grew over the three prior weekends, police installed up to 100 roadblocks around downtown Ontario Friday to bar access – and keep fuel and food from entering the protest zone. Authorities said they towed 21 vehicles. Protests emulating the Ottawa blockade have cropped up elsewhere, including between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. Authorities arrested a group of people tied to a blockade in Alberta, in Canada, who had a cache of weapons, the Times said. Some self-described leaders of the Ottawa protests apparently have experience in rightwing organizing. At some trucker protests in Canada, witnesses have spotted Trump, QAnon or Confederate flags.