Canada trucker protest organizers found guilty of mischief
OTTAWA, Ontario — Two of the organizers of Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 have been found guilty of mischief for their roles in the mass protest in Ottawa, a judge ruled Thursday.
Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were key figures and organizers in the massive protest that saw hundreds of vehicles and thousands of people occupy downtown Ottawa and insist they would stay until COVID-19 public health mandates were eliminated.
The February 2022 protests, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, were sparked by a Canadian government vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the U.S.-Canada border.
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 then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
In finding the two guilty of mischief, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said the evidence shows that the two routinely encouraged people to join or remain at the protest, despite knowing the adverse effect it was having on downtown residents and businesses.
The defense argued that Lich and Barber called for a peaceful protest and blamed any disorder on police and city officials.
Perkins-McVey found Lich and Barber not guilty of intimidation, counselling someone to commit intimidation, obstructing police and counselling someone to obstruct police.
Barber also was found guilty of counselling to disobey a court order for telling people to ignore an injunction issued by a judge directing convoy participants to stop honking their truck horns in downtown Ottawa.
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 honking of horns and music from parties.
Truckers also blockaded U.S.-Canada border crossings in protest.
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 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.
Ford pulls the plug on the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck
Ford says it is "following the customer" in discontinuing its large electric pickup, which was well-received but never profitable. Ford will keep the Lightning name alive as a plug-in hybrid.
Remembering Rob Reiner, who made movies for people who love them
The movies Reiner directed, from A Few Good Men to The Princess Bride, weren't just good — they were people's favorites, the types of films people come back to again and again.
Australia announces strict new gun laws. Here’s how it can act so swiftly
Less than 48 hours after the deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach that left more than a dozen dead, Australian authorities announced proposals for sweeping new gun laws.
An Alabama woman is among two who died in the Brown campus shooting
Mountain Brook-native Ella Cook's life was cut short Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building.
Executions nearly double in 2025 due to dramatic rise in Florida
This year, 48 people are expected to be executed in the U.S. Meanwhile, fewer new death sentences are being issued, and public support for the death penalty is at its lowest point in over 50 years.
Brian Walshe, who searched for crime tips online, is convicted of his wife’s murder
Walshe said his wife left town for a work emergency in January 2023. Investigators found items like a hacksaw, bloody rugs and her COVID vaccine card in dumpsters — and chilling searches on his devices.
