The Department of Public Safety issued a false security bulletin claiming it had “confirmation” Freedom Convoy protesters ransacked federal office buildings, Access To Information records show. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office yesterday said it had nothing to do with the disinformation.

“The Minister’s office does not direct the Government Operations Centre,” said Alexander Cohen, spokesperson for the Minister. The Operations Centre that issued the fake bulletin did not comment.

The Operations Centre on the first day of Freedom Convoy protests outside Parliament Hill on January 28, 2022 issued the security bulletin at 3:54 pm Eastern. “We have received confirmation that protesters have started to enter office buildings in the Ottawa downtown core and are allegedly causing damage,” said the bulletin. “As a result Minto Place is going into weekend lockdown mode (all entrance doors will be locked) effective immediately.”

There was no incident involving protesters in office buildings. The public safety department yesterday would not account for the source of the disinformation.