(Ottawa) The criminal trial of a prominent organizer of the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” heard closing arguments Friday in a case centered on the fine line between the right to protest and illegal behavior.
The defence maintains that Pat King, an Alberta resident, was peacefully protesting during the three-week protest in Ottawa that shut down the city’s downtown core.
Meanwhile, the Crown alleges he was one of the leaders of that protest and played a key role in causing disruption to the town and people who lived and worked nearby.
King has pleaded not guilty to charges of mischief, counseling others to commit mischief, obstructing police and other offences.
The convoy drew thousands of protesters to Parliament Hill to protest public health restrictions, COVID-19 vaccination mandates and the federal government.
The Superior Court judge is expected to rule on the case on October 4.
Defense attorney Natasha Calvinho concluded her closing arguments Friday by asking the court to dismiss the charges against Pat King and accused police, city officials and other protesters of allowing tensions to escalate during the demonstration.
Me Calvinho argued that King was a peaceful protester and was in no way a “leader.”
” [Les manifestants] had the right to be downtown and demonstrate peacefully,” she said Friday.
The Crown, for its part, is relying primarily on King’s own videos that he posted on social media throughout the events to document the protest and communicate with protesters.
Crown prosecutor Emma Loignon-Giroux alleged that King coordinated the honking of horns from massive trucks throughout the downtown core, sounding them for 10 minutes every 30 minutes.
He also told people to stay, even though he knew police and the city wanted the protesters to leave, Mr.e Loignon-Giroux in his final plea.
She cited one specific instance in which King helped move 80 trucks to block a major downtown street by “turning it into a three-lane parking lot.” He encouraged his social media followers to help block the city and led a convoy of trucks that drove slowly on a local highway and around the Ottawa airport to slow traffic, she said.
“As Canadian citizens, we all have the right to freedom of expression and assembly. These rights are granted to us by the Charter and they are extremely important, but as I mentioned, they are not without limits,” said Mr.e Loignon-Giroux.
“They are not absolute.”
The Crown argued that the Liberty Convoy became unlawful as soon as it interfered with the lawful use and enjoyment of public property and should be considered group mischief.
She rejected the idea that the case is about freedom of expression and assembly, and said there was no Charter claim before the courts alleging that King’s rights had been violated.
Questions raised by the judge
Judge Charles Hackland interrupted Mr.me Calvinho repeatedly throughout his closing arguments to ask how particular pieces of the defense evidence were relevant to King and the charges he faced.
Mme Calvinho has often responded that this provides context that she says the Crown’s case lacks.
Ultimately, all levels of government failed Ottawa residents in their response to the protests, the lawyer said, which is not the fault of King or others who protested legally.
The judge also questioned whether the Crown had established enough evidence to link King to wrongdoing at the protest.
“I see a man driving, yelling out the window,” Judge Hackland said of videos on social media showing King shouting “freedom” and other messages of encouragement.
“Is this participating in misdeeds, because what is happening behind the scenes is misdeeds?” the judge asked.
The Crown responded that the videos should not be examined in isolation, but should be considered as a whole to get a complete picture of King’s involvement.
At the end of the arguments, a small crowd of King supporters applauded the defense from the courtroom benches.
King, who attended the hearing via videoconference, then told her lawyer “great job, Natasha.”