NOT GUILTY! Jury acquits Coutts border blockaders of conspiracy to commit murder
In a shocking blow to the credibility of the RCMP, a Lethbridge jury has acquitted two men of conspiracy to commit murder.
Chris Carbert and Tony Olienick had been accused of conspiracy to commit murder against RCMP officers at the 2022 trucker convoy blockade at the Alberta-Montana border crossing in Coutts, Alberta.
Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick are found not guilty of conspiracy to murder, guilty on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose, guilty of mischief over $5,000. Olienick was also found guilty of unlawful possession of an explosive device.
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) August 3, 2024
Both men were denied bail and have spent almost two and a half years in prison awaiting trial.
Carbert and Olienick were two of the so-called Coutts Four who all faced related charges. The two other men, Chris Lysak and Jerry Morin, accepted a plea bargain from prosecutors, agreeing to plead guilty to minor firearms charges in return for time served.
The arrest of the Coutts Four was a spectacular and theatrical event, with the RCMP creating a dramatic display of seized firearms, purportedly belonging to the arrested men. Justin Trudeau immediately invoked the Emergencies Act, declaring a form of martial law, citing the Coutts arrests as his pretext. The use of that law was later found to be unconstitutional by the Federal Court.
The Lethbridge jury did find Carbert and Olienick guilty of relatively minor offences, including possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000. Olienick was also found guilty of possessing an explosive device, which he had argued was for industrial purposes. Given the lengthy time spent in custody, it is unlikely that the men will serve any more time serving a sentence.
This is a developing story.
Follow our court reporter Robert Kraychik at our special website www.TruckerTrials.com for all the latest.
Katherin Beyak, Chris Carbert's lawyer, tells the judge that sentencing for the crimes her client has been found guilty of is "at or beyond time served" and requests a bail hearing as soon as possible. https://t.co/H2kqcMsbsw
— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) August 3, 2024
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