Chris Scott, the owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe, has been released from jail after being arrested Saturday when 1,500 people flocked to his property in Mirror to protest the Alberta government’s lockdown orders..At the end of the Saturday protest, Scott was escorted to an RCMP cruiser, handcuffed, frisked and taken away to jail..It marked the end of a tumultuous few days for Scott, including an RCMP raid on his cafe, 50 km east of Red Deer, that saw an officer seize all the booze from the establishment..Two days later, on his day off, Scott was awoken just after 6 a.m. with the news the RCMP, along with officials from Alberta Health Services, had conducted another raid and had padlocked his cafe..Undeterred, Scott continued cooking pancakes, making burgers and serving coffee to his customers the next day in the parking lot outside his shuttered restaurant. The UCP government recently banned outdoor patio service for restaurants..A protest was quickly planned, but on Thursday the Alberta Health Services went to court and obtained an injunction making Scott’s protest illegal. It also gave the police powers to arrest organizers and protesters immediately..On the weekend, Albertans from all over the province flocked to Mirror to show their support..On Saturday, a few tickets were handed out, but overall the crowd remained respectful. The protest wrapped up about 5 p.m..But the RCMP seemed ready for major unrest..Reports from nearby Forestburg say armoured police cars and approximately 6 empty buses were standing by, presumably to transport arrested protestors..Wildrose leadership candidate Paul Hinman spoke at the protest, alongside Scott, Dr. Roger Hodkinson, and others..The Whistle Stop Cafe has become a flashpoint of resistance to provincial lockdown orders and restrictions imposed by the Jason Kenney government, as Scott defied the orders and “illegally” reopened in mid-January of 2021..… more to come.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694“
