OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — One of the most prominent figures from Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 has been found guilty on five counts including mischief and disobeying a court order.
A judge ruled Friday that Pat King was guilty on one count each of mischief, counseling others to commit mischief and counseling others to obstruct police. He was also found guilty on two counts of disobeying a court order. He could face up to 10 years in prison.
Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of protesters clogged the streets of the capital, Ottawa, and besieged Parliament Hill for three weeks in early 2022, demonstrating against vaccine mandates for truckers and other precautions and condemning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
Members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy also blockaded U.S.-Canada border crossings in protest.
The prosecution alleged King was a protest leader who was instrumental to the disruption in Ottawa. The prosecution alleged King coordinated the repeated bouts of honking, ordering the protesters to lay on the horn every 30 minutes for 10 minutes at a time, and told people to “hold the line” when he was aware that police and the city had asked the truckers to leave.
The prosecution’s case relied mainly on King’s own videos, which he posted to social media throughout the protest to document the demonstration and communicate with those taking part.
King was found not guilty on three counts of intimidation and one count of obstructing police himself.
The truckers’ convoy gridlocked downtown streets around Parliament Hill, with area residents complaining about the fumes from diesel engines running non-stop, and unrelenting noise from constant the honking of horns and music from parties.
Trudeau’s government ultimately invoked the Emergencies Act to try and bring an end to the protests. Ottawa Police brought in hundreds of officers from forces across Canada.
The protests were first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. They eventually encompassed fury over COVID-19 restrictions and dislike of Trudeau, reflecting the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger.
The Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted economic trade. For almost a week the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit was blocked. It carries more than 25% of trade between the countries, who are each other’s largest trading partners.
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