Police move in to clear convoy encampment at Ottawa Baseball Stadium

Police moved in to evict the final protesters from the Ottawa Baseball Stadium Sunday, as "Freedom Convoy" demonstrators packed up the remaining items from the command centre in Ottawa's east end.

Just after 10 p.m. Sunday, Ottawa police said the encampment in the parking lot on Coventry Road "previously occupied by an unlawful assembly is now clear."

Twenty-vehicles were towed from the baseball stadium.

Police delivered a trespass notice to anyone remaining at the encampment Sunday afternoon, saying they could face fines of up to $2,000. Shortly after, officers arrived at the parking lot in Ottawa's east end to clear the encampment.

"There was a methodical plan that was going to be enacted to take care of all of the locations that were disrupted by the unlawful occupation, that included Coventry Road," Ottawa police interim chief Steve Bell said Sunday.

"Currently, there is activity by our members and activity by demonstrators to demobilize that area and ultimately re-secure it by the city."

Police said Sunday evening officers will remain at the stadium to "prevent anyone from returning" as the operation continues to end the "Freedom Convoy" demonstration that blocked city streets for more than three weeks.

Hours before police issued the trespass notice, the tents were coming down, the saunas were gone and many vehicles had left the parking lot five kilometres from Parliament Hill.

"The trucks are gone and this is a support camp for those trucks, so I think everyone is kind of pulling out of Ottawa and moving elsewhere to regroup," Marc McAuly said to CTV News Ottawa.

For three weeks, the parking lot of the city-owned baseball stadium was a stronghold for convoy protesters, set up as a supply camp and closed off to outsiders.

White tent now gone. Working on the second pic.twitter.com/lrYP2MKEbn

— Colton Praill (@ColtonPraill) February 20, 2022

The police action downtown and the threat of fines enough for some to regroup outside the city, if they decide to even stay in the region.

"We're going to a new place, around Vankleek Hill," Menard said.

"For now, we're going to keep that quiet. We're going to see what's going on in the future and we're going to take some decisions after," said another protester at the stadium.

Dozens of convoy supporters are regrouping in rural areas outside of Ottawa, near Vankleek Hill, Embrun and Arnprior.

"The last number I got was probably around 10-15 trucks and about 15 cars, so it seems to have been constant over the last few weeks with a slight reduction in the last few days," Russell County Mayor  Pierre Leroux said.

Leroux admits he's concerned about the possibility of more vehicles arriving in the region.

"This being a large farmer’s field it creates challenges. Obviously, our staff aren’t trained for this scenario so we’ve been relying heavily on the provincial police," Leroux said.

Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa police say they're aware of the gatherings outside of the city, and are committed to preserving public safety.

"We continue to monitor unlawful protester activity across the city and within the region," Bell said. "We are seeing the site at Coventry Road currently being dismantled."

The interim police chief added police will be "attempting to keep tabs" on people leaving Ottawa and potentially gathering to come back into town at a later date.

A major police operation two weeks ago targeted the encampment at Coventry Road to seize stockpiles of fuel from demonstrators. Police said approximately 3,200 L were seized during the operation on Feb. 6. The camp, however, remained in place.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Ted Raymond