Two Canadian men, Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert, were each sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for mischief over $5000 and possession of a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence following their arrest during the Freedom Convoy blockade at the Coutts, Alberta, border crossing in 2022. The two were previously not found guilty on the most serious charge they faced, conspiring to murder a police officer, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Olieneck and Carbert, when arrested, were found to have live ammunition, a medical kit and ballistic vests in their possession, according to local media. Carbert argued that the weapons were to be used for hunting coyotes. The judge for the case, Justice David Labrenz, did not believe this explanation, and stated:
The abundance of live ammunition, the medical kit, the ballistic vests are not supportive of showing off firearms or hunting coyotes… They are supportive of a war with police.
The judge was also receptive to the findings of an undercover RCMP officer that Olienick referred to the blockade as “war,” made reference to “slitting mounty throats,” and stated “they [the police] should all be hanged.” In response to these allegations, Olieneck’s defense attorney, Marilyn Burns, argued that the RCMP used flirting to uncover these statements, which Canadian police are barred from using as a method of acquiring evidence, per local media. Within their conversations, multiple heart emojis were noted as evidence of the interactions being flirtatious. Justice Labrenz, however, found that hearts can be used for a wide variety of non-flirtatious reasons within text conversations, including strong agreement with what the other party said.
The two were initially arrested in a crackdown on the Coutts blockade after local RCMP released a statement that the protest was in contravention with the Alberta Critical Infrastructure Act. Under section 2(3) of the act, it is illegal to “willfully obstruct, interrupt or interfere with the … use or operation of any essential infrastructure that renders the essential infrastructure dangerous, useless, inoperative or ineffective.”
The Coutts border blockade was part of the larger Freedom Convoy, a nation-wide protest that saw the blockage of multiple roadways, border crossings and other critical road infrastructure. The protest arose out of discontent with government responses to COVID-19. The Canadian government claims the protest campaign was closely connected with other illegal activity, prevented local businesses from accessing supplies, and severely disrupted the flow of traffic throughout the country.
