That's because the cops on horseback had started invading the site of the peaceful protest from the right & closed the intersection waiting for their cue. Meanwhile,
@TorontoPolice
on foot crossed the safety line of the marshalls into the crowd & started attacking protestors. 6/
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I was at the massive Toronto protest today. We marched peacefully for over 3 hours. Families, grandparents, kids, youth...good folks of all races from all walks of life. There was ZERO violence or harm to anyone...but
@TorontoPolice
had no intention of keeping it that way! 1/
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At the beginning of the protest,
@TorontoPolice
wouldn't let us march & claimed they needed to inspect the protest truck. The organizers cooperated & allowed a full inspection. TPS claimed the speakers weren't safe. Organizers showed they were secured & fastened. We marched. 2/
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At every intersection,
@TorontoPolice
blocked the natural flow of the protest and forced us to take the route of their choosing. They were aggressive & looking for trouble. They wanted an altercation. We continued peacefully with our march & our message and did not engage. 3/
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At about the 3-hour mark,
@TorontoPolice
started to show signs of frustration because the protest kept growing bigger with more supporters. It remained fully peaceful. Here you see them rushing to the front on their bikes with the goal of trapping protestors & creating tension.4/
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At the intersection of Parliament & Gerard, it became clear that
@TorontoPolice
had received an order to instigate & initiate violence. Suddenly, there was an influx of cops...on bikes, on foot, in cruisers blocking every path...I tried leaving with my child & they blocked me. 5/
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An escalation of violence ensued from
@TorontoPolice
as their officers on horseback rushed through the crowd full of families & children, knocking over protestors. Police made arbitrary arrests (unnamed charges) & arrested the truck driver on a supposed "traffic violation". 7/
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So when you ask why many of us had a problem with
@TorontoPolice
hosting Palestinian families for Iftar in a performative & deceiving gesture, this is exactly why! A few days ago, they broke bread with us. Today, they terrorize us. Their racist brutality is on full display! 8/
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The reality is..colonizers & genocide enablers will back each other & will use force to intimidate the masses as they become louder! The Land Day protest was MASSIVE & EFFECTIVE.
@TorontoPolice
couldn't handle that. So they did what they do best...made it unsafe for everyone. 9/9
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