Organizer behind anti-vaccine mandate convoy says it won't tolerate extremists as online rhetoric heats upA key player behind the convoy travelling to Ottawa to protest a vaccine mandate for truckers is distancing her movement from the increasingly extremist rhetoric online being associated with the protest.

Social Sharing

Extremist groups and individuals have made efforts to join the protest, raising security concerns

Peter Zimonjic, Travis Dhanraj, Stephen Hoff · CBC News(David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press)comments

A key player behind the convoy travelling to Ottawa to protest a vaccine mandate for truckers is distancing her movement from the increasingly extremist rhetoric online being associated with the protest and asking members of the convoy to report any extreme behaviour to police.

Addressing her Facebook followers in a video posted on the Freedom Convoy 2022 Facebook page, Tamara Lich said the convoy is expected to arrive at Parliament Hill in Ottawa over the weekend to protest what she calls infringements of personal liberty caused by public health orders.

"If you see participants along the way that are misbehaving, acting aggressively in any way or inciting any type of violence or hatred, please take down the truck number and their licence plate number so that we can forward that to the police," she said.

Since the convoy of trucks and other vehicles left B.C. and began snaking its way to Ottawa, extremists and fringe groups have taken to social media to encourage their followers to descend on the capital when the convoy arrives, calling on them to destroy property and threaten elected officials.

• Federal government won't budge on vaccine mandate for truckers as convoy heads for Ottawa

Some have called for another Jan. 6 — the day last year when Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building. Others have called for politicians to be targeted, in what amounts to a growing threat that has security officials concerned, according to one senior government official who spoke to CBC News on background.

Lich said that everyone participating in the convoy must be registered with their "road captains" and anyone who does not behave in an orderly fashion "will be immediately removed."

WATCH | Truckers' protest convoy picks up support on Prairies:

The people and politics of a protest convoy heading to Parliament Hill

23 hours agoDuration 3:30Large crowds of supporters met a convoy of truckers and other protesters as it rolled through Winnipeg heading to Parliament Hill, where the mandate has become a political issue. Many involved in the convoy oppose the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, but there’s growing concern about extremists within their ranks.NewsReport Typo or Error|Corrections and Clarifications

(editor：)