Trucker Acquitted of Charges Stemming From Freedom Convoy Involvement

People and vehicles fill Wellington Street near Parliament Hill on the first day of the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID-19 restrictions, in Ottawa on Jan. 29, 2022. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

A trucker who was arrested for his role in the Freedom Convoy has been acquitted of all charges.

Harold Jonker was a road captain during the 2022 protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa, and stayed in the city for three weeks. Fifteen months after the protest ended, in May 2023, Jonker was charged with mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, and counselling intimidation.

On May 20, 2025, Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips found the Crown failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, and acquitted Jonker of all charges.

“We are very thankful for the excellent legal support provided by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and thankful that the judge saw through the Crown’s weak case and had the courage to do the right thing,” Jonker said in a statement following the verdict.

According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which represented Jonker in court, Crown lawyers said that the interviews Jonker gave during and after the protest were counselling mischief. However, Phillips said Jonker was treated by the interviewers like a “foreign correspondent” and was merely describing events as he witnessed them, not inciting unlawful action.

The judge also dismissed allegations that Jonker was responsible for the several vehicles affiliated with his trucking business that were in downtown Ottawa. Phillips noted that Jonker said his own truck was parked in a yard, and not downtown, and that the Crown gave no evidence on the structure of Jonker Trucking Inc. that could prove he had authority over the company vehicles.

Phillips also said that while the Freedom Convoy protest could be seen as a collective act of mischief, the Crown failed to prove that Jonker was guilty of any of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were also charged with mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, obstructing police, and counselling others to do the same, while Barber also faced a charge of counselling others to disobey a court order.

After a trial that went on for nearly two years, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled on April 3 that the two were guilty of mischief and Barber was guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order, but there was insufficient evidence for the other charges. The charge of counselling to commit mischief was also stayed by Crown lawyers.

Several other Freedom Convoy protesters have also had their charges dropped in recent years. In 2024, Dana-Lee Melfi had charges of mischief, mischief to property, disobeying a lawful order, and obstructing justice dropped.

Evan Blackman, who had his bank accounts frozen and was charged with obstructing police and mischief, also had the charges dropped in 2023.

Chandra Philip contributed to this report.