Court Finds Freedom Convoy Organizers Lich and Barber Guilty of Mischief, Dismisses Other Charges

Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber wait for the Public Order Emergency Commission hearing to begin, in Ottawa on Nov. 1, 2022. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA—Organizers of the Freedom Convoy Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have been found guilty of mischief, but the two have been found innocent of most other charges.

Lich and Barber both faced six charges of mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, obstructing police and counselling others to do the same. Barber also faced a charge of counselling others to disobey a court order.

Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled on April 3 that while the two were guilty of mischief, and Barber was guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order, there was insufficient evidence for the other charges. The two also had the charge of counselling to commit mischief stayed.

The judge said a date for sentencing will be announced at a later time.

Lich and Barber were the primary organizers of the 2022 trucker protest, which began in response to pandemic-related restrictions and vaccine mandates and resulted in large numbers of vehicles gathering in downtown Ottawa to protest the measures.

The federal government eventually invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, 2022, to end the demonstration, giving law enforcement expanded powers to arrest demonstrators and freeze the bank accounts of individuals involved in the protest. Lich and Barber were arrested on Feb. 17, a day before police began their action to end the protest.

A public inquiry determined that the government had met the “very high” threshold to invoke the act. However, a federal judge ruling on a case brought forth by some of the protesters said that the government’s use of the act was “unreasonable” and unjustified.

Guilty of Mischief

Speaking to a courtroom packed with spectators, Justice Perkins-McVey read out her abbreviated version of the 105-page verdict. She said the Crown had proven “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Lich and Barber personally committed mischief and incited others to commit mischief.

Perkins-McVey said the evidence “strongly” showed that the two displayed a sense of unity with the protesters and encouraged them to block roads, which she said interfered with Ottawa residents’ lawful use of property.

The judge said while she acknowledged that Lich and Barber came to Ottawa with the “noblest of intentions” and that a number of factors led to the downtown core being gridlocked with vehicles, the two organizers did not take steps to alleviate the obstacles until “much later in the demonstration.”

Perkins-McVey said that evidence shown in court proved that Barber was not a “mere bystander” in the protest, and that he encouraged protesters to block intersections and therefore committed mischief. She cited quotes from some of his TikTok videos, such as the protesters having “train-wrecked” traffic or that an intersection in front of the National Gallery was “looking lonely” as evidence of this.

Perkins-McVey said that Lich also had a leadership role and was seen in many videos standing “shoulder to shoulder” with protesters and encouraging them to protest.

“Ms. Lich could not have failed to have been aware the actions of the Freedom Convoy was having and the continuing distress residents of downtown, interfering with their right of lawful access, and use of public property,” she said.

However, Perkins-McVey noted that toward the end of the protest, Lich entered into a plan with the city of Ottawa to reduce the footprint of the protest, and Barber worked with police to move the trucks away from the downtown core.

“The fact that they tried to work to reduce the footprint—and the fact that they did aim for a peaceful protest—attenuates the severity of their role and may indeed be a mitigation factor down the line,” she said.

At the outset of her sentencing, Perkins-McVey also dismissed the Crown’s Carter application, which would have determined that evidence applying to one organizer should apply to the other because of how closely they worked together.

Not Guilty of Other Charges

For the charges of intimidation, Perkins-McVey noted that the definition in the Criminal Code is “wordy and unwieldy.” That definition can give up to five years in jail for blocking or obstructing a highway for the purpose of “compelling any other person to abstain from doing anything they that he or she has a lawful right to do.”

The judge said when trying to determine whether Barber and Lich were guilty of the count, she noted that the Crown’s arguments for the charge were the same as mischief, which she referred to as a “déjà vu moment.”

Perkins-McVey also said two of the previous court decisions the Crown relied on for its argument contained elements of “threats,” “violence,” and “menacing” that were absent from the Freedom Convoy case.

“I do not find the accused guilty of intimidation or counseling to commit intimidation, because I find that intimidation means more than that. It is different than mischief. If it’s merely the blocking of roads, then it’s the same as the mischief,” she said.

For the charges of obstructing police, Perkins-McVey said the charge means that someone intends to “make it more difficult for the police to execute their duty.” The Crown had argued that Lich and Barber stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the protesters and encouraged them to continue protesting, and that their repeated usage of the phrase to “hold the line” was evidence of this influence.

The judge noted that Barber and Lich were seen in videos posted to social media encouraging protesters to comply with police, with Lich saying to “show respect for our police officers” and Barber saying “if [the police] have a gun against your head, you ask how you can comply.”

Perkins-McVey also said while the rallying cry of “hold the line,” was used as a directive to stay in Ottawa and protest—which helped the Crown to prove their mischief charge—she disagreed with their argument that “the only inference that can be made by the accused’s use of the term is to encourage or incite others to commit the obstruction of the police.”

“Each of the accused encouraged their followers to cooperate with police if arrested, to respect police, to be peaceful. There are no words where they suggested to make it more difficult for police to do their lawful duties,” Perkins-McVey said, dismissing the charges of obstructing police and counselling others to do the same.

For Barber’s charge of counselling others to disobey a court order, Perkins-McVey referred to a Feb. 7, 2022, TikTok video where, after a court injunction against blowing horns had taken effect, Barber encouraged protesters to honk if they saw police arriving.

In the video, Barber encourages protesters to “lock the door, crawl in the bunk, and grab a horn” if they saw a group of riot police approaching to remove them. Perkins-McVey said this showed a “deliberate encouragement to disobey the court order in place,” and said he was guilty of the count.

Sentencing

Perkins-McVey said the court will return on April 16 to estimate time for sentencing at a later date.

Lich spent 18 days in jail following her initial arrest, and was released in March 2022 on bail conditions that prohibited her from using social media and meeting with protest organizers. She was again arrested in June for violating bail conditions after being photographed alongside organizer Tom Marazzo, and spent a total of 49 days in jail before being released in July.

Reacting to the verdict, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which has in the past represented the protesters, said it was disappointed with the court’s decision.

“People accused of serious crimes are walking away without facing trial because of extreme delays, supposedly caused by the Crown lacking adequate resources. Yet the Crown has devoted massive amounts of its limited time and energy to prosecuting peaceful protesters who exercised their fundamental Charter freedoms,” JCCF president John Carpay said in a statement.

While the trial of Lich and Barber was supposed to take just 16 days, a series of delays and complex legal arguments caused it to last over a year.