SHANNONVILLE, Ont. — Shortly before 11 a.m. yesterday a gang of about 25 G8 protestors pulled onto Hwy. 401 and effectively shut half of the country’s main trade corridor down.

According to reports from a police helicopter using GPS gear, the resulting tie-up stretched 11.5km as the mob slowed the flow of traffic to at times speeds of only 14 km-h.

Members of the group refused to identify themselves to Truck News, with one member suggesting they where fearing retribution from the trucking community.

The demonstrators, who turned a 60 minute run into a three and a half hour crawl, likely have good reason to fear as the attack would have directly impacted how much truckers stuck in the delay would have earned for the day.

The OPP had a very large presence at the protest and cleared the slow-moving vehicles off the highway at near the small resort community of Ivy Lea, Ont.