On September 24, a protest was held in downtown Calgary to support Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert. These two men were arrested in February 2022 during the Coutts, Alberta, border blockade protest against vaccine mandates, when they were accused of conspiracy to commit murder against RCMP officers.

Denied bail since their arrests, after two and a half years on August 2, 2024, a jury verdict found them not guilty of this egregious offence.

INNOCENT: Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were finally absolved of their charges of conspiracy to murder RCMP officers at the Coutts Blockade! Below was the moment Anthony was arrested, February 13, 2022, (not hours before Chris) 2.5 years they spent in pretrial custody! pic.twitter.com/1t36fewD7l

— Syd Fizzard 🍁 (@SydFizzard) August 3, 2024

Their arrests, along with others at the time, was made into a spectacle by RCMP, who assured the public these charges were valid. This incident provided supposed justification for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act less than 24 hours later, which led to a violent police crackdown on Freedom Convoy demonstrators in Ottawa.

RCMP LIARS "the truth is, is that this absolutely took place" 4 men charged of conspiracy spent 2-2.5 years in pretrial custody EACH. Today finally all conspiracy charges have been absolved!

SHAME ON THE RCMP AND THEIR SICK NARRATIVE AGAINST PEACEFUL PROTESTERS! pic.twitter.com/yOR9Vy55Tx

— Syd Fizzard 🍁 (@SydFizzard) August 3, 2024

While these men were found not guilty of conspiracy to murder, the jury did find them guilty of relatively minor offences of mischief over $5,000 and possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose.

Olienick was adittionaly found guilty of possessing an explosive device that was found at his residence, which he argued was for work-related purposes.

After Sentencing on September 9, Olienick and Carbert were given six-and-a-half years of jail time. Demonstrators gathered to voice their concerns towards the situation.