Live Updates: Hearings for two of remaining Coutts 4 defendants continue in Lethbridge

The pre-trial hearings continue today for two men charged with conspiring to murder RCMP officers during the Coutts border blockade over two years ago.

Four men — Anthony Olienick, Chris Carbert, Chris Lysak and Jerry Morin — were originally charged with conspiracy to commit murder during the Coutts demonstrations.

However, two of the suspects charged with conspiring to murder Mounties pleaded guilty February 6 to reduced charges. Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick remain in custody and are expected to stand trial in June.

The Coutts blockade was an 18-day peaceful demonstration against government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions held at the border of Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana in early 2022.

Halting millions of dollars in trade and occurring concurrently with the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, the protest proved to be one of the most effective Canada has seen.

A recent report from Rebel News details the harsh conditions Carbert and Olienick are currently facing up against while held in custody.

Rebel News reporter Robert Kraychik is on the ground at the Lethbridge courthouse and will be providing live updates on the hearings.

Follow along below:

Anthony Olienick has some very competent/committed supporters, including long-term friends who've paid close attention to the entire process since the Coutts protests. They've shared a lot of interesting information with me which I'll do my best to relay. https://t.co/H2kqcMsbsw

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) March 20, 2024

Defense lawyers told me they typically request such publication bans during preliminary proceedings to protect their clients' best interests. In general terms, some of the rules of the trial game are being established during the pretrial phase. #CouttsFour https://t.co/H2kqcMsbsw

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) March 20, 2024

Reminder: Publication bans during pretrial proceedings, typically, serve to prevent contamination of the jury pool, because evidence the Crown wants entered into the trial may be unlawfully obtained or be without merit and unreliable. https://t.co/H2kqcMsbsw

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) March 20, 2024

Reminder that Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick are being charged with conspiracy to murder, as well as weapons crimes and mischief, for their involvement with the Coutts blockade/protest of 2022. Potential punishment is a life sentence (no parole eligibility for 25 years).

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) March 20, 2024

The observer, a senior white man, just got up and exited the courtroom after the prosecutor identified him by his clothing to the judge. The judge advises the gallery not to make remarks - or even express body language - that may disturb the trial's participants.

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) March 20, 2024

Crown prosecutor asks the judge to order the removal and permanent banning of an observer from all future proceedings (a supporter of the defendants), due to claims that the observer was making disturbing remarks to him and his colleagues during recesses. https://t.co/H2kqcMrDCY

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) March 20, 2024