Two leaders behind the “Freedom Convoy” protest that gridlocked Canada’s capital for weeks in 2022 have been given conditional sentences, avoiding further jail time, according to Canadian news outlets.
Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were found guilty of mischief, but cleared of most other charges against them in April following a lengthy trial.
The two were part of a group that led a convoy of lorries to Ottawa to protest against Covid-19 measures and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
The Crown had requested a seven-year sentence for Lich and eight years for Barber, while lawyers for both had requested an absolute discharge.
Barber and Lich received 18-month conditional sentences that will allow them to serve 12 months at home with limited outings, then six months under a curfew in addition to 100 hours of community service, CBC and the Toronto Star reported.
The Crown has also brought an application to seize Barber’s “Big Red” big rig truck, which was part of the 2020 protest.
According to court documents, Barber argued he followed the instruction of the police as to where to park the vehicle during the protest and moved it when they asked.
His lawyer also argues that the rig is essential to Barber’s trucking business and used by his family and employees as part of regular operations.
A hearing on that matter takes place in November.
Separately, the Crown is appealing against the sentence handed down in February to Pat King, another protest organiser.
Prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence, but King received three months house arrest after being found guilty on five counts, including one count each of mischief, counselling others to commit mischief and counselling others to obstruct police.
The judge at the time noted that King was not a central protest leader and had on social media urged demonstrators to obey the law and avoid violence.
Both Lich and Barber were found guilty of counselling others to commit mischief in April.
Barber was additionally found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order.
The February 2022 protests were sparked by a federal vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the US-Canada border.
Convoys of some 400 heavy trucks and other vehicles descended on Ottawa and blockaded city streets around parliament for three weeks.
City officials deemed it an “occupation”.
The protests came to an end after Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act – the first time the Canadian law has been used – which allowed police to clear the streets and the government to impose bans on public assembly, along with other measures.
