Smoke bombs, smashed windows, 1 arrest at Montreal anti-capitalist march
Montreal police arrested one person Monday evening as hundreds of protesters took to the streets in an anti-capitalist march that quickly deteriorated.
Montreal riot police moved in about half an hour after the march got underway, when projectiles were launched.
Members of the anti-capitalist group CLAC gathered in Phillips Square and began marching at around 6:30 p.m.
By 7 p.m., once protesters reached the Queen Elizabeth Hotel on René-Lévesque Blvd.,things began to get heated.
"Protesters threw smoke bombs. Police quickly moved in, hitting protesters with batons and pepper spray," said CBC reporter Sarah Leavitt on the scene.
One person was arrested for assault of an officer with a weapon. No one was injured.
Riot police, some on horseback, followed the crowd closely.
Shortly after 7:30 p.m., Montreal police said that "acts of vandalism have been committed on businesses and cars."
Some storefront windows were smashed or splattered with paint. Cars were vandalized.
By 9:40 p.m., the crowd dispersed.
This is the 10th year in a row that CLAC members in Montreal held a May Day protest.
This year, the group raised concerns about the millions of dollars being spent on Canada's 150th and Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations.
At last year's May Day march, nine protesters were arrested after windows were smashed and buildings and cars were vandalized.
