It’s been almost two weeks since the first trucks arrived in Canada’s capital of Ottawa, setting off what has turned into a global celebration, a freedom rally, nonviolent resistance or a “nationwide insurrection,” depending on your point of view.
The City of Ottawa has declared a state of emergency, is bringing in police officers from other cities to assist and is arresting anyone helping a trucker. Last night, police started confiscating fuel.
"The police made a tactical mistake tonight by confiscating fuel. That fuel is inconsequential and does not impact our ability to keep trucks in place," tweeted[1] on the ground protest organizer and Bitcoin activist, Nobody Caribou. "They have awakened a beast by showing their corruption on a world stage. Much love to every person who maintained composure."
Clearly local and federal politicians are hoping the trucks will leave soon, but in an interview[2] with Canadian Bitcoin podcaster John Vallis, Nobody Caribou said the protests are not even close to being over yet.
On the ground, Nobody Caribou has a team of organizers working with him gathering information and communicating with truckers who are planning to stay as long as it takes to bring the changes they want:
- No COVID-19 mandates
- No lockdowns
- Enforcement of Charter of Rights and Freedoms
In a press conference[3] this past Sunday, truck convoy organizers said they’re here to stay and they have raised over $4 million on the fundraising site GiveSendGo — which they signed up after GoFundMe froze their funds.
They also said[4] at that point that they had received “$300,000 in bitcoin donations.”
GoFundMe Opens Up An Opportunity For Bitcoin
GoFundMe was the original fundraising choice of the truckers before making the move to fundraising platform GiveSendGo because, after raising almost 10 million
