Tamara Lich, one of the key organizers behind the Freedom Convoy protest, has been sentenced to 18 months house arrest, minus time served, for her role in the 2022 anti-mandate protest. Justice Heather Perkins-McKey delivered the ruling on Tuesday, rejecting calls from the Crown for a stiffer, seven-year sentence.

Rebel News publisher Ezra Levant was in the courtroom as the sentence was doled out and had further details.

The first 12 months of the sentence requires Lich to be under house arrest, barring trips to and from court or for medical emergencies or appointments, religious service and five hours a week for shopping.

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Lich can also attend her upcoming grandchild's birth.

The remaining 3.5 months, the Freedom Convoy organizer will be forced to live under a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., except for medical emergencies.

She was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

The marathon mischief trial of Lich and co-accused Chris Barber finally concludes after the protest was brought to a forceful end in February 2022.

After her arrest during the demonstration, Lich spent 49 days in pre-trial custody. The judge described the punishment as “a conditional sentence with punitive conditions,” emphasizing that it is “to be served in the community” rather than jail.

Justice Perkins-McVey rejected the Crown’s demand for a seven-year prison term and likewise declined Lich's legal team's request for a discharge, calling both extremes “unfit.”

She also acknowledged Lich's role in efforts to mitigate the protest's footprint in Ottawa, cooperating with city and police officials during the weeks long demonstration.

Lich's co-accused, Chris Barber, was given a similar community-based sentence.

Rebel News boss Ezra Levant shared his instant reaction after leaving the courthouse as he travelled to his next assignment.

“Remember, it's not Justin Trudeau or Mark Carney who's prosecuting, it's Doug Ford,” Ezra said, noting the role the provincial prosecution played in the process.

“Neither Tamara Lich nor Chris Barber will spend another minute in jail,” he continued. “Unfortunately, though, they'll have a conditional sentence for 18 months, of which a year will be under house arrest — and it's brutal.”