The trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber continues on day 19 today in Ottawa. As two of the most prominent faces of the Freedom Convoy, Lich and co-accused Chris Barber are facing charges of mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief, and intimidation. The Freedom Convoy demonstrations drew thousands of Canadians to Ottawa in early 2022 in opposition to COVID-19 restrictions.

Watch a full recap of day 18 of the trial:

Rebel News reporter Robert Kraychik is once again reporting from inside the Ottawa courthouse and will be providing live updates. Videographer Lincoln Jay is also on the scene to cover all of the reactions and commentary from outside the courthouse.

Follow along below:

Top-level officials - including Trudeau - got in front of cameras every day to deride the Freedom Convoy while going on about harms/negative impacts to Ottawans, yet someone among them denied local police the discretion to negotiate towards this end.https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

The negative impacts of the Freedom Convoy on residents (traffic, noise) were exacerbated by officials of the very government that regularly derided the demonstration as a "siege" and "occupation" harming Ottawa.https://t.co/auS19J6G04https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Both Lucas and Cyr testified that their abilities to lessen the Freedom Convoy's "footprint" was obstructed by the removal of their discretion to negotiate with the Freedom Convoy due to orders from higher up the chain of command. Who issued the order?https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Russell Lucas, an incident commander, speculated in his testimony that the "not one inch" directive effectively rescinding his discretion to negotiate with the Freedom Convoy, originated with Peter Sloly, who was Ottawa's chief of police at the time.https://t.co/kj4Ieute4h

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Two law enforcement officers directly dealing with the Freedom Convoy - Russell Lucas and Isabelle Cyr - testified that their discretion to negotiate with the Freedom Convoy was essentially rescinded. Where did the "not one inch" directive come from?https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Cyr agrees with Greenspon that law enforcement's intent to "reduce the footprint" of the Freedom Convoy practically meant "moving trucks [and] vehicles from residential areas to staging areas" in order to reduce the protest's "impact" on residents. https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Day 19 Tamara Lich and Chris Barber trial update via @rkraychik: Isabelle Cyr, an Ottawa Police Service (OPS) officer who liaised with the Freedom Convoy, testified that Russell Lucas, an OPS incident commander, denied her requests to help the trucker protesters lessen their… pic.twitter.com/kWjgKneZuC

— Lincoln Jay (@lincolnmjay) October 18, 2023

Recurring theme being demonstrated by Greenspon's cross-examination of Cyr - and much of the Crown's witnesses and evidence, thus far - is the ongoing coordination/compliance from the Freedom Convoy's organizers, particularly Barber, and law enforcement.https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Cyr confirms that Rideau St. (just East of Wellington St. and Parliament Hill) was also established by OPS as a "staging area" for Freedom Convoy motorist demonstrators, but won't say where expected "overflow" of vehicles should have been expected to go.https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Cyr confirms that Wellington St. (which is where Parliament Hill is located), was determined to be a "staging area" for Freedom Convoy truckers with large vehicles carrying box trailers, and that this was communicated to protest organizers.https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023

Day 19 of the Chris Barber and Tamara Lich trial: Isabelle Cyr, an Ottawa Police Service officer who worked with the Police Liasion Teams (PLTs), testifies about communications within the PLTs and plans in anticipation of the Freedom Convoy.https://t.co/TWDiMnjMOA

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) October 18, 2023