(Ottawa) Two organizers of the “freedom convoy” are still incarcerated a few days after their arrest. The court on Tuesday refused to release Tamara Lich pending trial. Patrick King, the most radical leader of the demonstration in Ottawa, will have to remain in prison until Friday before knowing if he can be released pending trial.
Updated yesterday at 6:47 p.m.
Mr. King was arrested on Friday, the first day of the police operation to free the streets of Ottawa, and had captured the moment to broadcast it on social networks. Trucks then paralyzed the city center of the Canadian capital for three weeks in order to demand the end of compulsory vaccination for truckers and the lifting of health measures to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.
He faces charges of mischief, counseling others to commit mischief, disobeying a court order and counseling to obstruct police work.
The Crown believes that releasing Mr. King would undermine confidence in the justice system, given the seriousness of his actions. She presented videos posted by the Albertan on social networks where he encourages truckers to honk their horns to disturb Ottawa residents and to lie to the police to return to the scene of the demonstration after the beginning of the police operation.
The occupation of the city of Ottawa is serious. This has never happened in the history of Canada.
Moiz Karimjee, Crown Attorney
During his hearing on Tuesday, the 44-year-old Albertan took off his mask. The judge called him to order, explaining to him that he had to wear it in court to protect others. The defendant apologized, but then wore his mask under his nose for almost the entire procedure, which lasted all day.
He twice tried to challenge certain assertions made by the Crown, but was cut off curtly by his lawyer, who advised him to keep quiet.
ILLUSTRATION JANE ROSENBERG, REUTERS
The court on Tuesday refused to release Tamara Lich pending trial.
Earlier in the day, Judge Julie Bourgeois refused to release Tamara Lich, another organizer of the convoy who had launched the first fundraiser on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform, on bail. She concluded that there was a high risk of recidivism if Mme Lich regained his freedom while awaiting trial.
“Your detention is necessary for the protection and safety of the public,” she told the accused. The 49-year-old Albertan faces a charge of counseling others to commit mischief.
A protester to the rescue of Patrick King
Kerry Komix, a woman he met during the protest, posted $50,000 bail, about half the value of her home. She has known Patrick King for four weeks as part of the “freedom convoy”.
The defense tried to demonstrate that this retiree, also from Alberta, was reliable and respectful of the court. She said she was ready to pay for the electronic bracelet – $200 a month – if Mr. King needed it, to host him, to make sure he would not have access to the internet and to report any violation of the conditions of release to the police.
“He will be stuck in rural Alberta under house arrest with Mr.me Komix,” pleaded defense attorney Cal Rosemond.
He also pointed out that the defendant had a greater risk of contracting COVID-19 in prison than living with Mr.me Komix.
The Crown attempted to prove the woman untrustworthy as she herself participated in the blockade of downtown Ottawa.
It’s like using a thief to watch a burglar.
Moiz Karimjee, Crown Attorney
The defense argues that Mr. King should be released pending trial because otherwise he risks spending more time in jail than if he pleaded guilty. His lawyer pointed out that the court, already overwhelmed before the pandemic, is even more so today. “There is no evidence that he honked his horn himself,” Cal Rosemond said.
Just after the lunch break, the organizer of the “freedom convoy” was handed the documents for the over $300 million class action lawsuit launched on behalf of downtown Ottawa residents bothered by horns and the blocking of trucks. The action targets the leaders of the demonstration.
With The Canadian Press
Reopening of the Rideau Center
The main shopping center in downtown Ottawa reopened after a police intervention that forced its evacuation for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon. “The Ottawa Police have completed their [intervention] at the scene and the Rideau Center is now open for the rest of the day, ”said in an email around 3:30 p.m. a spokesperson for the Cadillac Fairview group. The Ottawa Police Service has announced that a suspect has been arrested, but that the investigation is continuing. The mall had been evacuated in the early afternoon after police were alerted to a possible shoplifting with a weapon. The Rideau Center had just reopened after being forced to close on January 29. The place had become a haven for the protesters who poured in, often ignoring the obligation to wear a mask there, while it reigned freezing cold in the streets of the capital.
Melanie Marquis, The Press