There was a large police presence at the tent city Tuesday as the RNC said it was removing abandoned tents and destroyed property in the area, but protesters at the site are disputing that.

“In the interest of the motoring public, officers are removing abandoned tents and destroyed property,” the RNC posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This property can be retrieved by the owners at RNC HQ.”

But activist Mark Wilson posted that police “removed tents belonging to people that weren’t in them at that very moment, and told people to remove tents during the day and remove all belongings from site during the day.”

NDP leader Jim Dinn told the House of Assembly that he had spoken to people living in the tents who were distraught. He asked where the people are supposed to go.

Justice Minister John Hogan replied that police were removing tents that had collapsed for safety reasons. He said the RNC is not removing people from the site.

Police say they’re not removing anyone, just abandoned tents and property. Those here at Tent City say that’s not case. About 15-20 rents remain here after the police have left. @NTVNewsNL pic.twitter.com/e0jGd603cR

— Bailey Howard (@bailzhoward) October 17, 2023

Police still here but majority have left with trucks filled with items. One man says his tent and prescriptions were taken though he’s been here since the beginning. He asked police for his medication as they were packing up and was told he’d have to go to the station @NTVNewsNL pic.twitter.com/QjaoIELp9g

— Bailey Howard (@bailzhoward) October 17, 2023