Freedom Convoy organizers sentenced to 12-month house arrest

An Ontario judge on Tuesday sentenced organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber to 18-month conditional sentences, including yearlong house arrests. The two were convicted of mischief earlier this year for orchestrating the 2022 Freedom Convoy—trucker protests against Canada’s strict COVID-19 regulations. Government prosecutors previously advocated for Lich and Barber to receive seven- and eight-year sentences, respectively, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Justice Heather Perkins-McVey credited Lich’s previous jail time toward her sentence. She received an additional year of house arrest, as well as a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for over three months afterward. She will be allowed to leave her house for religious services, medical treatment, or business. The judge also ordered Lich to perform 100 hours of community service, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Barber was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest with the same exceptions, as well as a six-month curfew and 100 community service hours. He also received a concurrent three-month sentence for his additional conviction of counseling to disobey a court order, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

What did Lich and Barber say about the sentencing? Lich would rather serve a 100-year prison term than apologize for her actions, she said Wednesday. Some Ottowans felt intimidated by the convoy, but that was because their leaders misled them, she said.

Barber did not publicly comment on the outcome of the hearing by Wednesday morning. But he and Lich recorded a video on Tuesday asking supporters to remain calm regardless of the sentencing’s outcome. “It is what it is,” Barber said.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report on Lich and Barber’s convictions.