This just in from the Vancouver police. I’m not sure this is going to make Quebec, currently fulminating over the lack of a French presence at the opening ceremonies, feel any better.
Vancouver – Vancouver Police with support of the V2010 Joint Intelligence Group are announcing more arrests in connection with the protests last weekend.
Police have arrested a man they suspect was the ringleader of the criminal element that vandalized cars and stores in downtown Vancouver this weekend.
On Friday February 12 Police watched a person who is well known to them lead a group of criminals all dressed in black set up a barbed wire barricade in a downtown intersection. The barricade caused the Torch Relay to be diverted.
The same person was seen on Saturday February 13 dressed in black pulling a cloth over his mouth and nose and a hood over his head. Using an air horn, the leader of the group who has described himself publicly as an anarchist told the others to feel free to vandalize.
He then led the group on a march that included the spray painting of vehicles, the breaking of windows, the looting of a ladder from London Drugs and other damage.
Guillame Joseph-Marc Beaulieu, 27 of Vancouver has been charged with mischief over $5,000.
Another person was arrested by Vancouver Police on Sunday February 14 in connection with an assault on two journalists during a protest march.
Lliam Brander, 27 of North Vancouver has been charged with assault.
The investigation continues and further arrests may be pending.
The total number of arrests stemming from the vandalism and criminal activity connected to the legitimate protests now stands at 11. The charges include five people breached for disturbing the peace, assault, assault police officer, and mischief.
15 responses so far ↓
1 Rachel // Feb 16, 2010 at 9:17 pm
These hooligans should pay for all the damage that they have done!!!
2 Stephanie // Feb 17, 2010 at 12:13 am
I’ll be back when you start blogging again. I can get VPD press releases anywhere else. Enjoy your Games.
3 TheVancouverManifesto // Feb 17, 2010 at 12:51 am
@ stephanie: ??
4 Hoarse Whisperer // Feb 17, 2010 at 2:40 am
Ah, yes.
Civil disobedience meets uncivil discourse.
Or,
“If I want your opinion, I’ll remove the duct tape”.
5 Frances Bula // Feb 17, 2010 at 8:37 am
Stephanie
Just a reminder that I occasionally run news releases straight, including those from the ORN, as part of a mix of blogging and quick news updates.
6 Deprogrammer9 // Feb 17, 2010 at 10:10 am
“violent protest” this is laughable & a sad PR tactic. btw anarchists do not have lol ringleaders
7 Mike Cantelon // Feb 17, 2010 at 11:16 am
Anarchist groups aren’t command-and-control, hierarchal organizations, but police win easy PR points by painting that picture so they can appear in control.
8 Hoarse Whisperer // Feb 17, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Deprogrammer9 amd Mike
Yes, yes, we know the cant and the language of such movements. No-one follows orders, there is no governing body, no laws, yada, yada, yada.
But if some guy says ” Let’s trash the joint” and others agree, then execute, I would call that ‘leadership’.
Or, if someone calls David Eby and says “Don’t attend”, meaning ‘don’t ask/don’t tell’, I would call that an organizational strategy.
So much for real anarchy in BC.
9 Chris Keam // Feb 17, 2010 at 8:51 pm
“Yes, yes, we know the cant and the language of such movements. No-one follows orders, there is no governing body, no laws, yada, yada, yada.”
I think that description is over-simplifying a school of thought that has as many flavours (if not more) as all the political parties around the world with ‘Democratic’ in their name.
10 spartikus // Feb 18, 2010 at 11:51 am
According to the Tyee:
PENALTY BOX for the free-speech loving protest coalition, which muzzled fellow protestors from speaking out against the black bloc by forcing groups to sign an agreement not to speak ill of fellow protestors.
Wow. Just wow.
11 MB // Feb 18, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I can’t imagine what kind of society we’d have if the blackshirts ever became government.
But I know that will never happen, and not because their “civil” liberties would be violated by the police or any other group, but because they’ll just alienate everyone around them who do have legitimate concerns about the Olympics by slinging their poorly composed and immature rhetoric, and swinging their hammers.
12 Hoarse Whisperer // Feb 18, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Spartikus.
Indeed.
13 devo // Feb 19, 2010 at 1:31 pm
These people are not anarchists. They give anarchism a bad name. These people are misguided souls who were the result of unlove from an early age. They are also made up of provocateurs and travelling dissidents.
Power to the Peaceful
14 Norman // Feb 21, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Suits me. I wonder if the city can sue them for damages? That would be sweet.
15 Claire Fontaine // Mar 6, 2010 at 9:12 pm
“Power to the Peaceful”
Concentration camps are peaceful.