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Ottawa police have arrested a man they say drove a vehicle into the gates of Parliament Hill while in possession of “sharp weapons,” including a sword.
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The incident happened early Wednesday morning at 3:30 a.m. when an unauthorized vehicle entered Wellington Street, which was closed to traffic, and entered the front gates, the Ottawa Police Service said in a news release.
Security infrastructure prevented the vehicle from continuing, police added, and a nearby Ottawa police officer took the driver into custody without further incident. There was minimal damage to the doors.
The driver, 29-year-old Maxwell Pate, appeared in court later on Wednesday and was charged with dangerous driving and mischief. Pate was previously charged with two counts of assault with a weapon on May 2. He was released on the condition that he not possess a weapon.
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But police say he had a number of “sharp weapons”, including a sword, when he kicked the gate.
Pate was reported missing earlier this year and police said at the time that he was possibly armed with a knife and was at risk of harming himself or others.
OPS said it was leading the investigation into the incident alongside the Parliamentary Protection Office, which oversees security on the parliamentary precinct.
Vehicular traffic has been banned on Wellington Street since police cleared the Freedom Convoy, which had been protesting outside Parliament Hill and in the city center for weeks.
A parliamentary committee is currently considering whether the street should remain off-limits to vehicular traffic forever.
In July, Ottawa police shared an image of a white pickup truck covered in “Freedom Convoy” images and laden with flags driving past barriers erected on Wellington Street to keep vehicles out. The driver of that vehicle was fined more than $1,000 for driving on a closed road and failing to obey a sign, among other violations.
With files from Edan Helmer
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