By Ashley Legassic

Two arrested during protests outside PM’s fundraiser

Jan 10, 2019 | 2:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — Police say two men were arrested during protests outside of the Coast Kamloops Hotel and Conference Centre yesterday.

On Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 9), Kamloops RCMP arrested and removed two adult men, according to an RCMP news release, during the multi-group protests going on outside.

Police say they were each representatives from separate protest groups. One of the suspects could be facing criminal charges, while the other was released without charge.

Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says both men were 56 years old and were arrested roughly 45 minutes apart from each other.

“The first male… was from Vancouver and he was walking back and forth and obstructing traffic, attempting to get into and out of the parking lot. Numerous times our officers asked him to stop that and he was very uncooperative,” Shelkie says. “To prevent continuation of the offence… he was arrested. At that time he resisted arrest and then was taken to Kamloops RCMP to cells.”

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Another man from Salmon Arm was arrested for his own safety, Shelkie says, after he began stepping too close to traffic. He was arrested for mischief-type offences but later released without charge.

Several members of the so-called “Yellow Vests” movement and Indigenous demonstrators were outside of the hotel during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s appearance at a Liberal Party fundraiser yesterday afternoon.

“Overall the protestors were very cooperative with the RCMP,” Shelkie says. “Obviously it’s imperative that as police officers we allow people to protest and have their voice heard, and in this situation they were really good. There were numerous different groups that were there representing different causes, and almost all of our requests were met when we asked them to protest peacefully. It went very smoothly, actually.”