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I just arrived in Ottawa. Today and tomorrow (and possibly Friday) is the sentencing hearing for Tamara Lich and her co-accused, Chris Barber. As you know, they were each convicted of mischief, in the longest such trial in Canadian history.

It was obviously a show trial, a political act of vengeance. Mischief charges are typically let go with a warning — it’s the kind of thing that a first-time shoplifter or a teenager doing graffiti gets charged with.

They had nothing else against Tamara, so they just turned the trial into the punishment itself. Think about it: Tamara has already spent 49 days in prison — unlike many murderers in Canada, she was initially denied bail. And then she has spent the bulk of the last year going back and forth to Ottawa for a trial where the process was the punishment.

And now the prosecutors want to add to that punishment: they’re literally seeking seven years in prison for Tamara (and eight for Chris). I’ve sat through plenty of mischief trials, including for the Coutts Three — the three leaders of the trucker convoy that blocked the Alberta-Montana border, in solidarity with the Ottawa convoy.

In that case, which was remarkably similar, the judge gave two of the men zero jail time, and one of them thirty days. There is literally no basis to demand a seven-year prison sentence other than raw malice and vengeance.

That is the state of Canadian courts in 2025. What a disgrace. I’ll be here to live-tweet the whole thing — you can follow me on Twitter at @ezralevant, or simply go to our Rebel News site, where many of my tweets will be compiled. I’ll also film short video updates during breaks in the hearing.

I’m not here alone — my colleague Alexa Lavoie is in town, too. She’ll do “streeters”, asking people in Ottawa what they think. It’s going to be interesting: remember, this town is full of government bureaucrats who loved the lockdown. It meant they didn’t have to go to work, but they still got paid. They hated the truckers, to be candid. Let’s see what they have to say today.And: we’ve brought our signature billboard truck!

We’ll be driving that around Ottawa with strong messages in support of Tamara Lich. I’m excited to see the truck in action! So don’t miss a thing: be sure to check in regularly throughout the day today and tomorrow.

Finally: I spoke with Tamara yesterday, and I promised her that we’d crowdfund her out-of-pocket expenses. That obviously covers the cost of her travel (yet again) to Ottawa. And we’ve also hired a security guard for her, to protect her from the kooks of Ottawa who are particularly violent, especially the ones associated with Antifa. If you want to help me cover those costs, please go to www.ProtectTamara.com (thanks.) Alright, I’d better go into court now!

I keep thinking of the phrase, “the process is the punishment”. Not even murderers or terrorists are persecuted with such vengeance in Canada. They’re trying to break Tamara, but she is stronger than ever. One tangible way we can help her is to make sure she’s not out of pocket for her costs, like coming back and forth to Ottawa all the time. Please click here or go to www.ProtectTamara.com to help keep her whole. (Thanks.)