A video warning the recent theft of 2,000 firearms may be planted in Ottawa to thwart peaceful protests by the Freedom Convoy has been released by ex-RCMP Cpl. Daniel Bulford..Bulford — a former sniper and bodyguard with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s security detail — is now head of security for protesters in the Freedom Convoy. He resigned from his position with the RCMP in November in objection to the mandates brought forward by the federal government..In the video, Bulford said his group received information on Monday from multiple “believed reliable” sources that stolen firearms “may be planted in Ottawa specifically around the Freedom Convoy to discredit the protest and to use as a pretext to forcibly remove peaceful protesters..“Due to the nature of this information, we felt it prudent to notify the public in the interest of their safety,” said Bulford..“This private intelligence correlates with the approximately 2,000 firearms stolen from a truck in Peterborough, Ont. on Sunday morning, February 13..“Our sources have notified us these weapons may be planted by nefarious elements and at this point, we have no further knowledge of who is behind this act of sabotage.”.Bulford said as soon as the Freedom Convoy group received the information, the appropriate authorities were notified, including the Ottawa Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Parliamentary Protective Service..In the video, Bulford implored all protesters and the general public to report any suspicious activity to the authorities immediately..“Many of us have left our homes to come here to demonstrate peacefully,” said Bulford..“We are all pleading with the police: Do not act indiscriminately.”.He also called on journalists to turn their “investigative talents to this matter.” .“We expressly affirm the principle that change can only occur within the democratic process,” said Bulford, adding the Freedom Convoy group doesn’t intend to “step outside of this democratic process” and affirmed the safety of the public and police is the group’s paramount concern..Following a police incident Monday morning uncovering a large cache of weapons at the Coutts blockade in Alberta, along with Trudeau invoking the Emergencies Act, Coutts protesters have decided to pull out and end the blockade..“Those people involved with the police situation were not associated with us whatsoever, but the media will spin it that they were and that’s the last thing we want,” said Abe Martens, a trucker and protester at the Coutts blockade..Martens said he and others felt the timing of the discovery of weapons with a group near the blockade is “convenient” and said the idea this group and weapons were planted has “crossed all our minds.”.“How convenient. We’ve been here for over two weeks and this just happens to come up the same day (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau brings in the Emergencies Act,” said Martens..“I don’t want to come across as a conspiracy theorist, but this sure would give them leverage to have us forcibly removed.”.Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
