As Police Advance, Freedom Fighter Reads Notes from Kids Aloud on Air

'Live From The Shed' Dave describes the moments before his arrest. Released hours later, a church that caters to bikers rescues him.

Mid-way through the 3-week Ottawa protest, a platform was added to the roof of The Shed, which itself was on the back of a truck parked in front of Parliament Hill.

[read how Dave became a YouTube personality at the trucker protest]

The Shed’s livestreaming cameras were running the morning police crushed the freedom convoy on the streets of downtown Ottawa.

From inside The Shed, Dave watched events unfold, knowing it was just a matter of time before the cops reached him. In an interview, he says “we had all these cards…The whole wall was just covered with these cards from kids. So as the police are moving in, I just started to pick up these cards and read them.”

Those who protested in Ottawa returned home with bags full of thank you notes. This photo was provided by the wife of a man who was greatly missed by that same wife, daughters, and dog during the 3 weeks he was away.

In this video, beginning at 22:48 minutes, we hear Dave reading aloud:

• “God bless you all. God bless Canada.”

• “Thank you for giving your time to give us our freedom back.”

• “Don’t give up. Fight for freedom. We believe in you.”

• “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Beginning at 23:52, we hear him read the following:

• “Thank you, truckers.”

• “Dear truckers, we need you. We love you.”

• “Thank you, truckers. You are my hero. You will give us our freedom back.”

Dave describes what happened next:

I heard the cops go on top of the roof. I heard them arresting [another protester] and I could see it on the cameras…And then a guy burst through the door. One of those green soldier-looking guys had his rifle pointed at me. He said, “Get on the ground!”

I said, “Yes sir, whatever you say, sir.”

So you can hear the audio of all that as it went down. And then they took me outside and cuffed me.

Dave was advised he was under arrest, and was taken to an ad hoc processing station. Charges were written on a whiteboard he was instructed to hold in front of him. Photographs were taken. Eventually, he was loaded into a prisoner transport vehicle.

So I had my little compartment and I was still cuffed at that point. And I just sat there for an hour or more…And then they transferred me to another transport van. And at that point they took my cuffs off, which was nice of them.

And then they drove us, like half an hour out of the city, to some parking lot. I don’t know where it was…they dropped us off about half an hour out of the city and were, like, “OK, you’re free to go.”

Enter the Capital City Bikers Church, a congregation that ministers to the poor and preaches the gospel to motorcycle enthusiasts. When parishioners heard protesters were being dumped in that parking lot, they sprang into action.

Dave explains:

they told me to jump in their truck…They drove me to their church and they had hot food and coffee, and people to talk to…there was probably 50 to 100 other people at the church who’d also been arrested or shooken up in some way through that day.

So yeah, there were some really good people there who helped take care of us after that whole ordeal.