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Alberta’s Top Court Upholds Convictions of Two Leaders of COVID-19 Border Blockade
The court rejected arguments that evidence was mishandled and upheld the pair’s convictions and six-and-a-half-year sentences.
On Thursday, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the convictions of Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick, two leaders of the 2022 Coutts border blockade, in a judgment rejecting their appeals.
The 2022 demonstration against COVID-19 vaccine mandates halted traffic for two weeks at the Sweetgrass-Coutts border crossing on Highway 4; RCMP arrested the pair after discovering weapons, ammunition, and body armour near the blockade.
A three-judge panel rejected arguments that the trial judge made errors, ruling that Charter breaches were insufficient to overturn convictions for mischief over $5,000 and possession of a dangerous weapon.
Carbert and Olienick were sentenced to 6 1/2 years for mischief and weapons offences; both remain free on bail pending a second hearing on their sentence appeals.
A second hearing is expected to address challenges to their sentences as the court's judgment confirms the legal standing of the initial trial's guilty verdicts.