2010 G-20 Toronto summit protests

2010 G20 Toronto summit riots
Part of the Anti-globalization movement
Riot control emerge as a police car burns in the background in Toronto on 26 June
Date	June 18–28, 2010
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Methods	Black bloc, rally, demonstration, rioting, Arson, Vandalism
Casualties
Injuries	39 reported injuries during arrests. A total of 97 police officers received injuries during the G20. An unknown number of protesters who were not arrested sustained injuries.

The 2010 G20 Toronto summit protests began one week ahead of the 26−27 June 2010 G20 Toronto summit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The protests were for various causes, including poverty and anti-capitalism.

Protests mainly consisted of peaceful demonstrations and rallies but also took form of a riot as a group of protesters using black bloc tactics caused vandalism to several businesses in Downtown Toronto. More than 20,000 police, military, and security personnel were involved in policing the protests, which at its largest numbered 10,000 protesters. While there were no deaths, 97 officers and 39 arrestees were injured, and at least 40 shops were vandalised, constituting at least C$750,000 worth of damage.

Over 1000 arrests were made, making it the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. In the aftermath of the protests, the Toronto Police Service and the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) of the G20 Toronto summit were heavily criticized for brutality during the arrests and eventually went under public scrutiny by media and human rights activists.

A Royal Bank of Canada branch in Ottawa was firebombed just before dawn on May 18, 2010. The attackers posted video on YouTube showing a large fireball igniting inside the bank. The video then listed the manifesto of a previously unknown group calling itself the FFFC. The message stated that the attack against the bank was because of the growing suffering of Vancouver's poor in the shadow of RBC's major sponsorship of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia and claimed these events were held "on stolen indigenous land." In addition to social issues and aboriginal land claims, the video claimed the actions were sparked by environmental and deforestation related concerns surrounding the Alberta tar sands projects in "Canada's" prairies, in which the video claims RBC is substantially involved and which G8/G20 decisions furthered. The attackers also stated their intention to be present during the G8 and the G20 Toronto summits the following month. The projected recurrence of such acts of violence and the escalating rhetoric of anti-summit protest plans caused the G8/G20 Integrated Security Unit (ISU) to increase its security measures. The attacks were quickly and widely criticized by the media, politicians, and other protest groups Three suspects were arrested on June 19, 2010; with one, Roger Clement, being convicted in December 2010 while charges against the other two were stayed for lack of evidence. Clement, a 58-year-old retired federal government employee, formerly working for the Canadian International Development Agency, eventually received a 3½ year prison sentence, that included 6 months for vandalism of another RBC branch in February 2010.