New Zealand police battle 'Freedom Convoy' protesters as tents burn, Parliament camp is cleared
appeared to show protesters setting fire to tents, then throwing fuel onto the blaze. One of the fires engulfed a children’s playground as gas canisters could be heard exploding across Parliament grounds.
“We have all at times felt angry during this occupation,” she said in a speech delivered as the police operation continued outside. “After all, when we are in the middle of a pandemic, and 400 people hospitalized and 20,000 people becoming sick in just one day, it’s almost impossible to comprehend that people would stand opposed to efforts to slow that down.”
“One day, it will be our job to try and understand how a group of people could succumb to such wild and dangerous mis- and disinformation,” she said. “And while many of us have seen that disinformation, and dismissed it as conspiracy theory, a small portion of our society have not only believed it, they have acted on it in an extreme and violent way. That cannot stand.”
But tensions have grown over time. Last week, police were pelted with feces as they tried to install concrete barriers to block additional cars from joining the protest.Wednesday’s violence was far beyond previous skirmishes, however. Police said they encountered protesters armed with fire extinguishers, trip wires, paint-filled projectiles, homemade plywood shields and pitchforks.
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