Vancouver demonstration over jailing of pipeline protester ends with 4 arrests

Four people have been arrested after Indigenous youth temporarily blocked and forced the shutdown of a major Vancouver intersection to protest a 90-day jail sentence handed to an anti-pipeline protester.

The protest, organized by a group called the Braided Warriors, began late Tuesday at Hastings Street and Clark Drive and ended Wednesday night, roughly 24 hours after it started.

Vancouver police say about 75 people were involved in the blockade at a key entrance to the Port of Vancouver, and four were arrested when they refused to leave the intersection.

Social media posts by the Braided Warriors say members intended to shut down the port to show solidarity with an elder sentenced for his role in protests against the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project. Stacy Gallagher has been ordered to serve 90 days in jail. 

Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said the four people who were arrested were all adults and were taken to jail before being released on a promise to appear in court.

"The VPD strongly supports peoples' fundamental freedom to peacefully gather, demonstrate, and express their views, and this group was given a full day to do that," Addison said in a press release.

"When it became clear some protesters had no intention of leaving, officers were forced to arrest them to reopen the intersection for all road users."

Traffic in and out of the port was temporarily blocked due to the protest.