A large police presence – including several officers with riot shields – shut down streets in London’s downtown on Tuesday morning as tensions flared during a protest against a defence-sector event.
York Street and King Street were closed by police to morning traffic amid the protest, which one organizer estimated drew about 100 people to London’s RBC Place convention centre. One witness told The Free Press that there was a conflict between protesters and others near the venue, which led to one person being arrested.
As of about 10 a.m., there were about 40 protesters at the venue’s main entrance. Some were carrying signs bearing messages like “Stop arming Israel” while chanting. According to its website, the Best Defence Conference is being held at the convention centre Tuesday and Wednesday.
The event bills itself as “a premier Canadian aerospace, defence and public safety conference” that addresses, among other things, “public safety capability domains.”
One of the protesters was Rachel Small, with a group called World Beyond War. She said of the demonstration: “We felt that we can’t let a convention like this happen in our city.”
In a statement, London police cited an “active protest happening at an event in the area of Wellington and York streets” that drew “a number of officers” to the scene.
“We recognize a person’s right to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly, however property damage or violence in the name of any cause will not be tolerated,” police said in a statement.
As of about 10:30 a.m., protesters began leaving the area. London police said one person was arrested in connection with what they called “property damage.” The streets were re-opened to traffic shortly after 11 a.m., police said.
