Officers with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police came out en masse Sunday as protesters descended on GraceLife Church in Alberta, Canada, where police barricaded the worship center last week, barring congregants’ access to the church.
In a statement issued to the media Sunday, the RCMP said it was on the scene in Edmonton to preserve “peace” and “maintain public safety,” claiming — as it has been barring the free exercise of religion — that it recognizes “everyone has a right to peaceful freedom of expression.”
One video circulating on social media showed what appeared to be a great deal of RCMP officers at GraceLife on Sunday.