Canadian trucker beaten by police says he won't be intimidated: 'They broke my body, but not my spirit'
The longtime trucker said he expected to be arrested, but wasn't prepared for a physical beating from the authorities
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Romanian-born trucker in Canada was brutally beaten by Ottawa City police after peacefully surrendering to them over the weekend, he told Tucker Carlson on Monday.
Csaba Vizi, a 20-year resident of Canada, was protesting in Ottawa for three weeks before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, prompting police to hand out notices warning demonstrators to leave or potentially face arrest for "committing a criminal offense" by "blocking the streets."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When the police closed in on Vizi days later, the longtime trucker said he expected to be arrested, but wasn't prepared for a physical beating from the authorities.
"I got down from my truck, I went down right on my knee, I put my hands behind my head," Vizi told "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "I was waiting for them to take me away. In that moment, the police officers – they start to punch me with those sticks, they were yelling to me, ‘go back, go back.’ And I just told them, ‘hey, I’m the driver.’
Vizi said he was then dragged to a separate area and told to lie on his stomach. The incident was captured on video and widely shared on social media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They drag me in, they lie me down on my belly, and I don’t – I don’t recall how many were on top of me… I felt like I was beaten, but I took it like a man," he said.
Trucker Csaba Vizi (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)
Carlson noticed that Vizi appeared to have trouble breathing during the interview, "You seem to be having trouble breathing, I could hear it. Were you injured by this?" the host asked.
"Yes," Vizi said. "They broke my body a little bit, but not my spirit."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two days before the attack, Vizi told Fox News Digital that the notices by police to leave or potentially be arrested was just another scare tactic by Trudeau and vowed to stay put.
"Those who are willing to give their life for this cause, need much more than being threatened with arrest, with fines, with losing insurance," he said last Thursday.
Protester arrested in Windsor, Canada, on Sunday morning (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)
"Somebody can go take my house, I don't care at this point," Vizi added at the time. "Probably, my bank account is froze[n]." "I'm broke financially anyway so take it, who cares?"
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As a Romanian who fled communism in his youth, Vizi said he is disturbed by the recent behavior of Canadian government officials and law enforcement officials.
"I moved to Canada – everything was wonderful…I was so happy. I said jeez, that is so nice. Everything was beautiful in the last 20 years I can say," he said, "but the last two years, it’s like impossible to live here anymore."