Three men accused of playing key roles in the 2022 Coutts, Alta., protest blockade have been found guilty of mischief.
Jurors found on April 16 that Marco Van Huigenbos, Alex Van Herk, and Gerhard Janzen were guilty of one count each of mischief over $5,000. The men had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Defence lawyers did not call evidence during the trial, and the accused did not testify. A pre-sentence report has been ordered for the three men, and they will appear before court again on July 22 before a sentencing hearing is scheduled.
“Our legal system may find me/us guilty, but the legality and morality of our country are no longer aligned,” Mr. Huigenbos said on social media in reaction to the verdict. “When you understand this, you will know why men and women were on Highway 4 from Jan 29th-Feb 15th.”
The three men had participated in the Coutts protest on the Canada-U.S. border, which was sparked in solidarity with the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions.
The protestors left Coutts voluntarily on Feb. 14 after the RCMP uncovered numerous firearms at the protest site and arrested 14 people. Protestors told reporters they didn’t want to be associated with the arrests and wanted to remain “peaceful.”
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At the outset of the criminal trial on April 3, a Crown prosecutor said the proceeding had nothing to do with the men’s beliefs or right to protest. Prosecutor Steven Johnston said the men had interfered with the use of a highway for two weeks, alleging they had the final say over what happened during the protest.
During his closing arguments to the jury, Mr. Johnston said the jurors only needed to find that they three men were active participants in the blockade in order to return a guilty verdict. “One act, one statement of encouragement can be enough to convict,” he said.
Mr. Johnston said that while the Crown did not have to prove the men were the leaders of the protest, evidence had shown they were key players in how the events unfolded and that they were spokespeople for the protestors.
Meanwhile, defence lawyers had argued the protest was “disorganized” and that no one person or group had the power to call the shots during the demonstration. Defence lawyer Ryan Durran told jurors that Mr. Van Huigenbos was not a protest leader, but became a messenger between protestors and the RCMP.
Lawyer Michael Johnston, who represented Mr. Van Herk, said he tried and failed twice to convince the protesters to leave. Lawyer for Mr. Janze, Alan Honner, said his client tried to help other protesters sort out their problems and work with the RCMP.
Following the sentencing Mr. Van Huigenbos told the media that he was not surprised by the verdict.
“Based on the charge, based on the interpretation of the law. We’re guilty,” he told reporters.
“It was much more than just 18 days on a highway in the middle of nowhere. We shook and threatened the pinnacle of power in this province,” he added. “Coutts was the flame that the grassroots rallied around and turned into a fire.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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