Canadian court freezes millions of dollars of donations to Freedom Convoy on GiveSendGo

 A Canadian court froze access to millions of dollars of donations intended to support the "Freedom Convoy" trucker protest on the donation platform GiveSendGo.

The court order was made at the behest of Ontario Premier Doug Ford in an attempt to quash the protest against the lockdown that has brought the city of Ottawa to a standstill.

A spokesperson for Ford confirmed the order in a statement Thursday that said organizers would be unable to gain access to donation campaigns entitled "Freedom Convoy 2022" and "Adopt-a-Trucker."

The campaigns had reportedly raised nearly $8.5 million for the convoy before the accounts were frozen.

Organizers of the protest had initially used the donation platform GoFundMe, but that account was also frozen after raising over $10 million. GoFundMe said that the campaign violated their terms of use.

The funds raised were intended to pay for gas, lodging, and food for truckers participating in the protests. 

On Wednesday, Ford tweeted that he had met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about what he called an "occupation" of Ottawa and Windsor.

"We will continue working together to support our police forces as they manage these situations. We both agreed this must come to an end," he tweeted.

Trudeau has refused to meet with the organizers of the demonstration. The Biden administration has called on the Canadian government to use its federal powers to end the protest.

Police have said they have arrested about two dozen protesters in Canada.

Also on Thursday, law enforcement officials in France banned protests planned for Paris that would block traffic in that city. Protesters who violated the ban could be punished with up to two years in prison and a fine equal to more than $5,000.

Here's more about the Freedom Convoy protest:

Canada truckers protest: Why are they demonstrating?www.youtube.com