The prosecution presented evidence obtained from the mobile phones of Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick during the two defendants’ trial in Lethbridge, AB, across proceedings since last Friday.

Both Carbert and Olienick have been charged with conspiracy to murder, with the Crown accusing the two men of conspiring to murder police officers during their time participating in the 2022 Coutts blockade and demonstration. The Coutts protest was a peaceful and civilly disobedient demonstration against governmental decrees, edicts, and mandates issued as “public health” measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

The two men are also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000. Olienick is additionally charged with unlawful possession of an explosive device for a dangerous purpose. The two defendants have pled not guilty to all charges against them.

The Crown’s evidence came from a series of RCMP persons invited as witnesses, all of whom had some role in either extracting or interpreting data from the two defendants’ mobile phones.

Evidence of text messages – sent by either native SMS messaging, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Signal, or Telegram – was presented in the form of a slide show for the jury.

A text message reading, “This is it, if this doesn’t work it’s war, so we have nothing to lose,” was sent from Olienck’s phone on January 25, 2022. Other messages sent on the same day include, “Certain patriots might need to be called into action if this movement gets stalled out, can’t let up and can’t let them win,” and, “Fuck it, this is our last hope and then you know what comes next.”

Another message sent on January 25, 2022, reads, “Yup, nothing but time at that point, hunting season for elites 7 days a week 365 days of the year, no bag limit, shoot as many as you want. … Their army of the vaxed zombies will all be gone by then. Sharpen your hunting skills on them. … So the elites won’t have anyone and they are all faggot liberals anyway, so easy hunting.”

"Hunting season for elites 7 days a week 365 days of the year ... their army of vaxed zombies will all be gone by then," wrote Anthony Olienick in a text on 1-25-2022. The Crown uses expressions of disdain for the Ruling Class as evidence of conspiracy to murder. pic.twitter.com/92VvTtPbJt

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) July 4, 2024

Some text messages sent from and received by Anthony Olienick’s mobile phone echoed concerns he expressed in an hours-long interview with an RCMP officer shortly after his arrest on February 14, 2022, about increasingly violent governmental authorities.

A message sent on January 30, 2022, from Carbert’s phone reads, “You should have seen the diversity of people and various ages on the side of the road with signs for the Alberta convoy. ... People have had enough of trampling of rights.”

“Look at the news mom, this protest I am in is huge,” Carbert wrote to his mother via text message on January 31, 2022. “It's world news.” He also wrote, “Doing everything I can to not have a war. … We are showing the world we are trying to end this.”

On February 3, 2022, Carbert wrote in a text message, “They have our phones tapped up here for sure. The world is watching. If they show aggression it will be the single biggest mistake in human history. This is for every human on planet Earth. This is bigger than the RCMP. 2,300 RCMP went on stress leave today. We are doing this for their families too. Most of them want this, they just can't say it!”.

Carbert also wrote, “Get the message out to make sure it stays peaceful, and if any agitators are there to film them. Spread the word.”

A message written by Carbert on February 4, 2022, reads, “Thanks dude. I just want our kids to be able to live free. I was scared, because people got too content with the government taking away our rights. I don't care what anyone says, it wasn't going to stop. You know the government had us so divided, and all of us dirty people were being kicked out of society. Now we will be celebrated. I don't care, but I really hope people wake up. Even though I have been slammed, [they] said I should be in jail, I shouldn't get health care, chastised, etc, I’ll still fight for everyone. I am on the right side, and I know that. … This won't end until the mandates are gone or they drag me away in handcuffs, that I promise.”

Photos of firearms were found on Carbert’s phone, with the RCMP alleging that the photos’ data indicated that they were taken “near” Carbert’s home.

Note: Text message from Chris Carbert’s and Anthony Olienick’s phones have been lightly edited for clarity.