Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who disagree with the removal of the encampment in Victoria Square staged a hostile demonstration in Montreal on Friday evening, prompting police intervention and the arrest of one person.
It all started around 8pm at Place Jean-Paul-Riobelle in the Ville-Marie district. After shouting slogans and speeches, the demonstrators started moving towards the McGill University campus.
“During the march, the demonstrators placed fences in the street to obstruct the police officers who followed the demonstration,” Caroline Chevrefils, spokeswoman for the City of Montreal (SPVM), said in an email to TVA Nouvelles.
A protester broke a window of a business before the group moved to the higher education institution’s administration building, where other windows were smashed.
“Following the hostile behavior of the demonstrators against the police, the latter started their dispersal maneuvers using chemical irritants,” Officer Chevrefils said.
The demonstration, which ended around 11 pm, left two police officers with minor injuries and a 66-year-old man was arrested and released on summons. According to the SPVM spokesperson, the latter allegedly attacked a security guard at McGill University.
Note that despite this event, the pro-Palestinian camp located on the grounds of McGill University has not been removed.
