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Adam Skelly, owner of Adamson Barbeque in Toronto was arrested for attempting to defy the city’s ban on indoor dining, according to Fox News.
Skelly has been charged with mischief and obstruction of police in his endeavors to defy coronavirus restrictions.
— Joe Warmington (@joe_warmington) November 26, 2020
Skelly was eventually arrested and is facing a handful of charges including trespassing, obstructing police, and defying provincial COVID-19 restrictions, and more.
Skelly bragged on Twitter that customers should once again show up for illegal indoor dining on Tuesday, in an effort to “show [Toronto Premier Doug Ford] who runs Ontario.”
From Fox News:
Skelly again reopened on Wednesday, with crowds of supporters and protestors lining up outside the restaurant. In response, officials changed the locks on Thursday morning.
Skelly, however, arrived at the restaurant on Thursday and told Toronto Sun reporter Joe Warmington that he had every intention of reopening for lunch that day. (He had previously written on Twitter that he was actively looking for a locksmith to meet him at the restaurant.)
Later that day, Skelly was “permitted to enter a portion of the building, where there is no access to the restaurant, to obtain personal belongings,” according to Toronto communications officer Brad Ross, as reported by the Star. But from there, Skelly and his employees broke through a wall separating this area from the dining room (footage of this was shared to a friend’s Facebook account), and allowed customers inside while police attempted to hold back the crowd.
Toronto restaurants are currently restricted from offering in-person dining, and may only operate for takeout, delivery or drive-thru, as per protocol set forth by the Reopening Ontario Act.
