A lawyer for Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber says he encouraged protesters to leave downtown Ottawa and set up camp outside the city, following police advice.
Mr. Barber and Tamara Lich were two of the most prominent leaders of the early 2022 protests against COVID-19 public health restrictions.
Both have pleaded not guilty to mischief and intimidation, among other charges.
The Crown intends to prove that the two conspired together so closely that evidence against one should also apply to the other.
But Mr. Barber’s lawyer Diane Magas is arguing against that assertion, and says the organizers were not working toward an illegal purpose.
She read some of Mr. Barber’s private text messages aloud in court today, in which he encouraged protesters to move their vehicles out of the city to a staging area about 45 kilometres outside of Ottawa.
