4 people ticketed after hundreds attend anti-lockdown rally at Whistle Stop Café: Alberta RCMP

RCMP say they ticketed four people after an anti-lockdown rally was attended by hundreds in central Alberta over the weekend.

A “Save Alberta Campout Protest” was held Saturday outside the Whistle Stop Café in the hamlet of Mirror, Alta., to support owner Chris Scott as health officials had closed his business earlier in the week.

READ MORE: Pre-emptive injunction granted against planned protest by Whistle Stop Café operator

Alberta Health Services had said they received hundreds of complaints about the café and that it had not been complying with COVID-19 restrictions.

Scott, who also organized the rally, stood on a stage in the rain and rallied the crowd to challenge measures meant to curb the spread of the virus.

READ MORE: Health officials close Whistle Stop Café after Alberta restaurant ignores COVID-19 rules for months

He was arrested a few hours later and RCMP say they ticketed four people under the Public Health Act for attending the gathering.

A court decision last week gives health authorities and the RCMP the power to take legal action to stop any planned protests of public health restrictions.

2:03 Whistle Stop Café closed by AHS, RCMP after flouting COVID-19 rules for months in central Alberta