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Nearly three years after the Freedom Convoy was forcibly dismantled after former prime minister Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, Harold Jonker, a father, former West Lincoln municipal councillor, and owner of Jonker Trucking, has been acquitted of all criminal charges.

Jonker faced accusations of mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, and counselling intimidation stemming from his role as a Niagara region road captain during the 2022 Ottawa protests. On May 20, 2025, Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin B. Phillips cleared Jonker of all counts, marking a significant legal victory.

“It was, I would say, unexpected to a certain extent. A criminal case is always an uphill battle,” said Jonker’s lawyer, Christopher Fleury of Charter Advocates Canada, funded by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. “We’re absolutely over the moon.”

Fleury explained the Crown’s case relied heavily on Jonker’s media interviews with Fox News and Canadian podcasters, which showed him in downtown Ottawa and expressing support for the convoy. However, “he never goes as far as to say things like honk your horns, come here and park a truck or block traffic,” Fleury noted.

The judge determined that, although the convoy was found to have committed mischief, there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Jonker had participated in it criminally.

Jonker faced immediate repercussions post-convoy, including a week-long sanction on his trucking company’s commercial registration. “That was the first punishment we received as a company,” he said. As a councillor, he was docked $2,000 for allegedly breaching the code of conduct, a ruling he contested unsuccessfully via judicial review.

“I feel like yelling. I feel like crying,” Jonker said of his acquittal. Yet, he remains entangled in a class-action lawsuit and fears ongoing targeting. “They definitely came after people who seem to have a bit of a voice,” he told Rebel News, reaffirming his resolve: “I’d do it again.”