Freedom Convoy protest organizers convicted of mischief

An Ontario judge on Thursday found Tamara Lich and Chris Barber guilty of mischief for their role in orchestrating the 2022 Freedom Convoy trucker protests against Canada’s strict COVID-19 regulations.

Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said evidence proved the two often encouraged people to join the protest and continue it, despite its adverse effects on residents and businesses in Canada’s capital, Ottawa.

Perkins-McVey dismissed the majority of other charges the Crown brought against Lich and Barber, which included intimidation and obstructing police, according to the Associated Press. She found Barber guilty of an additional charge of counselling to disobey a court order because he told protesters to continue honking their horns in defiance of a 10-day injunction. Lich and Barber are expected to be sentenced at a future hearing.

The Ontario Court website had not yet released the text of Perkins-McVey’s decision on Friday afternoon, but a lawyer in the courtroom posted that the judge said freedom of expression crosses a line when it collides with public order.

What did Lich and Barber say? Before the Thursday hearing, Lich said its outcome would not change her love for Canada. On Friday morning, she tweeted a GIF of the Canadian flag. Barber has not publicly commented.

What was the Freedom Convoy? Truckers and protesters, headed up by Lich and Barber, filled downtown Ottawa streets for three weeks in early 2022, honking horns and demonstrating against then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s policies, especially vaccine mandates for truckers. Protesters also blocked border crossings between the United States and Canada.