At least two gun-related charges have been laid against supporters of the Ottawa Freedom Convoy, in addition to a dozen for weapons of an unspecified type, police documents show.
One individual, for example, was accused of wanting to seize a police officer’s weapon, while others were caught with concealed weapons or with restricted weapons.
But that’s just a small fraction of the 533 separate charges laid by Ottawa police against 140 people, data ending March 31 show. Other charges may have been laid later, following police investigations.
Police intelligence had given great importance to the question of whether or not weapons were present within the Freedom Convoy. The mechanized protest against sanitary measures blocked streets in downtown Ottawa for three weeks last winter. It has inspired blockades at borders, including that of Coutts in Alberta which actually led to a major arms seizure.
Police had not confirmed the discovery of firearms during the police operation that finally cleared the streets of Ottawa on February 18 and 19. The vast majority of charges (388) refer to crimes that were allegedly committed during these two days.
Regular charges
A total of 310 people were arrested during the Freedom Convoy, including only 32 before the major police operation organized at the end of the third week of occupation, according to the documents filed Thursday evening at the Commission on the state of emergency. 110 vehicles were towed by the police during this multi-day operation.
The most common charges for convoy offenses are mischief (241), resisting arrest (112), or disobeying a court order (87).
“We see that these are offenses that are used quite regularly in the justice system. But you have to see the facts to know their seriousness,” commented Marie-Ève Sylvestre, professor of criminal law and dean of the Faculty of Civil Law at the University of Ottawa.
At least 15 people must face justice for having advised others to commit a criminal act, an accusation which has notably been directed against several leaders of the movement.
This is, for example, one of the charges against the opponent of health measures Steeve “L’Artiss” Charland. The members of his group, who called themselves the “Farfadaas”, were the target of a failed police operation which ignited the powder of the important dissension in the police ranks, we learned during the hearings of the public inquiry.
Among the list of other charges, we can see that of disturbing the peace, dangerous driving, having fled from a police officer or various counts related to intimidation.
The Freedom Convoy cost the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) at least $55 million, the institution estimated. The OPS had so far offered no co-operation with the media to find out the number of charges filed in connection with the Freedom Convoy.
On October 12, media relations wrote in an email to To have to that a list of the accused in connection with the Freedom Convoy “was not compiled by the Service”. Faced Friday with proof that the service was actually collecting the information, the OPS explained to the To have to in a brief e-mail that “the media office did not have a list in hand”.