The Crown is expected to lay out its case for why evidence against one "Freedom Convoy" organizer should apply to another in the criminal trial of two of the protest's leaders. Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are co-accused for their role in the 2022 protest that blocked streets around Parliament Hill for weeks to oppose COVID-19 public health restrictions. Lich arrives to the Ottawa Courthouse in Ottawa on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The Crown is expected to lay out its case for why evidence against one “Freedom Convoy” organizer should apply to the other in the criminal trial of two of the protest’s leaders.
Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are co-accused for their role in the 2022 demonstration that blocked streets around Parliament Hill for weeks in protest of COVID-19 public health restrictions.
The Crown alleges that the two worked together so closely that they should be considered co-conspirators in the trial.
The pair’s lawyers have opposed the allegation, and say that planning a protest together isn’t inherently illegal.
But prosecutors say that just because the protest wasn’t violent, that doesn’t make the organizers’ actions lawful.
The Crown closed its case in the trial last week, but the defence is seeking a ruling on the conspiracy allegation before it calls any evidence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2023.
