(Ottawa) There is no evidence to suggest that Tamara Lich and another organizer of the “freedom convoy” should be considered co-conspirators in court because their actions were not illegal, said Tuesday his defense team in a court filing.
The Crown concluded its argument against Mr.me Lich and his co-defendant, Chris Barber.
Both are accused of mischief and intimidation, among other charges related to the protest against COVID-19 restrictions that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for weeks in 2022.
The Crown heard weeks of testimony in court about the disruptive nature of the protest, during which roads were blocked and the city center was filled with the sounds of horns and the smell of diesel.
Thousands of protesters, including a convoy of trucks, took to the streets surrounding Parliament Hill. Protest organizers said they would not leave until their demands to end COVID-19 vaccine requirements were met.
The Crown also released several hours of videos published by Mme Lich and Mr. Barber on social media, from the start of the protests until the time of their arrest, in which they proclaimed themselves leaders of the protest and documented their messages to protesters.
The Crown hopes to prove that the two co-accused conspired so closely that evidence against one of them should apply to the other, in what the court calls a Carter application.
Illegality contested
M’s lawyersme Lich, including Lawrence Greenspon, have now filed their own motion asking the judge to drop the conspiracy allegations.
In a court filing, Tamara Lich’s lawyers say the Crown’s request should be dismissed because the Crown has not proven that Mme Lich and Mr. Barber had agreed to protest the health restrictions by illegal means.
“To the extent that the protesters had collective goals, they were not fundamentally illegal,” M’s lawyers argued.me Lich in the court document.
While murder or drug conspiracy is inherently illegal, Me Greenspon and his colleagues argued that going to Ottawa to oppose health measures was not.
“Similarly, there is no evidence that any of the leaders of the ‘freedom convoy’ agreed to pursue its goals through illegal activities,” the documents state.
The defense argues that there is no direct evidence linking Mme Lich to one of the alleged illegal activities complained about in downtown Ottawa during the protest.
“There is nothing illegal about encouraging others to come or stay in Ottawa to legally protest. Mme Lich does not encourage anyone to engage in illegal conduct at any time,” the attorneys say.
The Crown presented video evidence of a tearful Tamara Lich speaking to supporters during a livestream video the day before her arrest in Ottawa.
In the video, she encourages more people to come to Ottawa to stand with protesters, despite fears she is about to be arrested.
The Crown also repeatedly referred to the use, by Mr.me Lich and Mr. Barber, of the phrase “hold the line” as they urged people to come to Ottawa and stay, even as police ordered protesters off the downtown streets.
She repeated the words as she was led handcuffed out of the demonstration in the final days of the rally, before police carried out a massive operation to end it.
A line has been crossed, according to the Crown
Crown prosecutor Tim Radcliffe argued in his opening statement that Mr.me Lich and Mr. Barber did not just “hold on” during those three weeks in Ottawa, but that they “crossed the line and, in doing so, committed multiple crimes.”
Both defendants “put pressure on decision-makers” and exercised “control and influence” over where vehicles were parked, all in the name of achieving the political goal of ending health restrictions in the event of pandemic, said Me Radcliffe.
The Crown has not yet reacted to M’s requestme Lich in court.
The trial is expected to resume next week.