Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked Alberta Premier Danielle Smith if she would consider visiting the four men charged in connection with the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., who have been in jail for over 710 days without bail.
“Given that the media outlets, the big ones in Canada are organs of the state, literally, we don’t really know anything about what these four men have been accused of doing. Don’t you think it would send a powerful message to go visit them in jail and find out what they’ve been accused of?” Mr. Carlson asked Ms. Smith during a speaking event in Calgary on Jan. 24.
Chris Carbert, Christopher Lysak, Jerry Morin, and Anthony Olienick were arrested in February 2022 during the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and pandemic-related restrictions. The RCMP said firearms, ammunition, and body armour were found in three trailers located near Coutts.
The four men, known as the “Coutts Four,” are charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Mr. Olienick was also charged with making or possessing an explosive device. Shortly after the arrests, demonstrators abandoned the Coutts protest site because they did not want their message overshadowed by the arrests of the four men, who police said were not part of the original demonstrators.
Mr. Carlson said it appeared the men had been arrested for “political crimes” and that the justice system had violated their human rights by not providing them with bail.
Ms. Smith responded to Mr. Carlson’s question by highlighting her previous phone call with preacher Artur Pawlowski, who was prosecuted in relation to COVID restrictions. During the phone call with Mr. Pawlowski, who was also arrested because of his role in the Coutts protest, Ms. Smith offered to make inquiries on Mr. Pawlowski’s case and report back to him.
“What I have learned is that ... the Crown operates independently, prosecutors have to make sure that they have a reasonable likelihood of conviction, and I guess they will have to assess whether or not that is the case,” she said.
Ms. Smith added that organizations like the Canadian Constitution Foundation, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Canadian Civil Liberties Association had done “good work” on that front. “They’re doing the work in the way that our system allows. I truly wish I could do more, but I’ve had my wings clipped in the last year,” she said.
Mr. Carlson said he hoped someone could “stand up for the most powerless in your society.”
Since parting ways with Fox News in April 2023, Mr. Carlson has begun hosting a new show called “Tucker” on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. He also has plans to launch a new subscription-based media company, with weekly episodes of shows like “Tucker Carlson Uncensored” and “Ask Tucker.”
