Nick Strachan, a young man participating in the COVID mandate protest, became unexpectedly famous when video of him being relentlessly beaten by Canadian police was released on social media. “They were punching my face. They were kneeing me in the face. And simultaneously that’s when one of the riot officers took my nylon rainjacket…and wrapped it around my mouth and my nose and it was cutting off my breathing. I didn’t know if I was going to get another breath. The last thing I saw were fists and knees.”
Despite all that, when police later tried to force him to sign essentially a surrender document, he refused on the grounds that he had a right to protest. “Freedom means the right to decide. It means the ability to choose what goes into your body. It means the right to peaceful protest and to be heard. That’s why we’re out here protesting.” No doubt concerned about potential legal repercussions, the police never fully registered the incident and let him go anyway.
Nick Strachan is a gutsy and articulate young Canadian of whom the trucker convoy and all Canadians should be proud.