Coutts Three found guilty of mischief over $5,000 by jury, maintain moral position of protest

A jury found the Coutts Three – Marco Van Huigenbos, Alex Van Herk, and George Janzen – guilty of mischief over $5,000 on Tuesday in Lethbridge, Alberta.

The three men were charged with having committed the crime for their involvement in the 2022 Coutts protest and blockade, which, at times, blocked traffic on Alberta Highway 4 in both directions near the Coutts-Sweetgrass Canada-U.S. border crossing.

The Coutts border protest and blockade took place concurrently with the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, ON, with the two peaceful demonstrations incorporating civil disobedience in opposition to governmental decrees, edicts, and mandates ostensibly imposed upon Canadians for "public health" purposes to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

The twelve jurors unanimously found all three men guilty. The prosecution held that the protest unlawfully obstructed people's access to property, specifically Alberta Highway 4.

Guilty verdicts for all Coutts Three defendants - Marco Van Huigenbos, George Janzen, and Alex Van Herk - on the charge of mischief over $5,000. This stort still isn't over, though. https://t.co/mIhJKvGq4E pic.twitter.com/LKMcHbmZOs

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 17, 2024

Canada's Criminal Code defines mischief as follows in Section 430:

Every one commits mischief who wilfully

• (a) destroys or damages property;

• (b) renders property dangerous, useless, inoperative or ineffective;

• (c) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property; or

• (d) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with any person in the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property.

The first sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 22. The maximum penalty for commission of mischief over $5,000 is five years of imprisonment.

After the verdict was rendered, the three men told Rebel News they did what was right in Coutts in opposition to a tyrannical government violating Canadian constitutional rights and freedoms. At the time of the protest, the demonstrators demanded an end to the above-mentioned governmentally-imposed decrees, orders, and mandates. The three men stated they had no regrets over their participation in the 2022 Coutts protest.

Marco Van Huigenbos maintained the distinction between legality and morality, noting that the two concepts are not synonymous.

Dozens of persons – mostly friends and family of Van Huigenbos, Van Herk, and Janzen – attended the trial's proceedings on its final day.