Defence lawyers representing two high-profile "Freedom Convoy" organizers are expected to present more new evidence today as they lay out their case. Tamara Lich arrives for her trial at the courthouse in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – Defence lawyers representing Tamara Lich say her frequent use of the phrase “hold the line” doesn’t imply that the “Freedom Convoy” organizer was encouraging illegal activity.
Lich’s lawyer Eric Granger is making that point as he argues that Lich and fellow organizer Chris Barber should not be considered co-conspirators in their criminal trial, meaning that evidence against only one of them should not be used against both.
The two were among the most high-profile organizers of the early 2022 demonstrations that gridlocked streets in downtown Ottawa in protest against COVID-19 public-health restrictions.
The rallying cry “hold the line” has become a focal point of their trial, as the Crown attempts to prove that Lich and Barber exerted influence over the massive crowds and urged them to stay as police tried to clear the streets.
Granger says the phrase was used on the “Freedom Convoy 2022” Facebook page before the protesters even arrived in Ottawa, and before any crimes were alleged to have occurred.
He says any notion that using the phrase “hold the line” is nefarious is entirely speculative.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2023.
