Live Updates: Trial continues for three alleged 'key participants' of Coutts blockade
Three alleged 'key participants' of the Coutts blockade each face up to 10 years behind bars for their roles in the anti-mandate demonstration.
The trial for three alleged organizers of the 2022 Coutts border blockade continues today in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos, and George Janzen are each facing up to 10 years in prison for their roles in the peaceful demonstration. Each of the men are being charged with mischief over $5000 for their involvement in the protest.
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 in decades.
Rebel News reporter Robert Kraychik is on the ground at the Lethbridge courthouse, providing independent reporting on the trials of three of the men charged by the RCMP at the Coutts blockade.
Follow along below for live updates from the trial:
George Janzen "seemed to be a person of influence," RCMP officer Mark Wielgosz testifies, crediting Janzen with possessing "effective communication" and being "professional and polite" despite the emotionally charged scenario of the Coutts protest. https://t.co/mIhJKvFSf6
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
"There was no clear leadership. It seemed to be very disorganized," RCMP officer Mark Wielgosz testifies, adding, "It didn't seem that there was any leadership at the time."; one of the Crown's central claims is that the Coutts Three were leaders of the Coutts protest.
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Crown prosecutor Aaron Rankin asks RCMP officer Mark Wielgosz a series of questions about Rebel News. Wielgosz said "major media [CTV, CBC] were there", but unlike Rebel News, were "typically not that close to the saloon or the protesters". https://t.co/KGVQVAKLQo
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
He's still beholden to a an institution that is subordinate to a corrupt government. It's an example of how talented persons can be swallowed up, at least in professional terms, by corrupted and politicized (in the worst sense of the word) institutions. https://t.co/mIhJKvFSf6
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Mark Wielgosz seems like a competent, straightforward RCMP officer. Some courtroom observers, who were at the Coutts protest and observed Wielgosz in his professional liaison capacity, told me he was very open in his dealings with the Coutts demonstrators. https://t.co/KGVQVAKLQo
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
In the clip, Mark Wielgosz asks the Coutts protesters to keep a lane in each direction open for cross-border traffic; George Janzen replies that the RCMP must first allow other demonstrators access to Coutts who were, at the time, held up at Milk River. https://t.co/R79lw4BCvI
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Interesting to see the Crown play a Rebel News branded video capturing some discussions between RCMP officer Mark Wielgosz and Coutts demonstrators in the Smuggler's Saloon in the border village. https://t.co/KGVQVALjFW
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
"We made frequent trips [to and from Coutts to Lethbridge]", Mark Wielgosz testifies about his ability to travel from Coutts to Lethbridge, where he and his RCMP colleagues has a hotel. "We weren't obstructed [by demonstrating motorists]", he adds. https://t.co/mIhJKvGq4E
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Mark Wielgosz, an RCMP officer w/over 20 years of experience, is the Crown's next witness. When deployed to Coutts in response to the protest, the convoy he witnessed from Lethbridge was much larger than he anticipated, and between 35 and 40 km long. https://t.co/KGVQVAKLQo
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Former Mayor of Coutts Jim Willett also testified repeatedly that there was at least one lane open on the highway leading to the Canada-U.S. border crossing in his village across almost all of the duration of the Coutts border blockade. https://t.co/mIhJKvGq4E
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Jim Willett, former mayor of Coutts, testifies that attempts to lead/direct the protesters/demonstrators were "like herding cats", undermining a central claim from the Crown characterizing the defendants' as leaders of the protest. https://t.co/KGVQVALjFW pic.twitter.com/KdUs1ulnux
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
"I would say a majority, yes, for sure," Jim Willett, former mayor of Coutts, says about a majority of his village's residents supporting the Coutts protesters. https://t.co/KGVQVALjFW
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
In and around Ottawa, countless thousands of hours were stolen from Canadians (imagine the dollar value) by the government via police imposition of road blocks/checkpoints, forcing countless instances of 20-minute commutes being forced into two-hour trips. https://t.co/mIhJKvGq4E
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
The RCMP did here what it did in an around Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy, it arbitrarily and abusively restricted Canadians' access to roads they pay for in order to reduce travel to protests it wished to put down. https://t.co/ZxeehuggXZ https://t.co/KGVQVAKLQo
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Jim Willett, former Coutts mayor, also testifies that the RCMP was responsible for a traffic blockade at Milk River, the primary mid-point between Coutts and Albertan population centers north of the Coutts protest. https://t.co/KGVQVAKLQo
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
This is important given that the Crown is characterizing the Coutts Three defendants as the "leadership" of the border blockade/protest. Jim Willett previously stated that @alexvanherk's attempts to direct the protesters were akin to "herding cats". https://t.co/yth7KWPnF3
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
After making this recommendation, many of the protesters express a desire to remain in protest, some wanting to remain until forced by police to leave. Jim Willett, mayor of Coutts at that time, acknowledges that @alexvanherk essentially had no control of the group at this time.
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Michael Johnston, @alexvanherk's lawyer, plays a video from February 3, 2022, in which his client is advising Coutts protesters to vacate the demonstration before "tactical" police units are sent to clear them out due to an "illegal blockade". https://t.co/mIhJKvGq4E
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Willett states that roads to and from Coutts were "completely blocked" - impeding potential needs for emergency access - during this November 2021 blockage driven (pun!) by snowbirds traveling to the U.S. He is being cross-examined by Michael Johnston, Alex Van Herk's lawyer.
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Jim Willett, Coutts mayor between 2018 and 2023, testifies that the border town experienced blockage in November 2021 when snowbirds came in big numbers after the U.S. removed some of its COVID-19 Enterprise restrictions for cross-border travelers. https://t.co/KGVQVALjFW
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
If you're entering a courtroom late with proceedings already underway, it's sensible to be mindful of noise; walk gently, close to door quietly, etc. Some media person enters in obnoxiously, bag banging on the benches, papers ruffling. No self-awareness. https://t.co/KGVQVALjFW
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
The trial for Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick also continues today. I'll speak w/observers who are in there (close friends and family of the defendants) who I entirely trust to accurately relay any developments, although the publication ban is still on. https://t.co/H2kqcMsbsw
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
Trial resumes for the Coutts Three - @marco_huigenbos, @alexvanherk, and George Janzen - and I'll be live-posting developments on this snowy day in Lethbridge, AB. You can support the defendants' defense fund at https://t.co/KGVQVALjFW; donors will receive a charitable receipt.
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 4, 2024
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