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'Freedom Convoy' Organizer Pat King Guilty of Intimidation, Appeal Court Rules
The appeal court said King helped lead a coordinated effort to pressure Ottawa residents, and it ordered a new sentence after adding an intimidation conviction.
On Friday, the Court of Appeal overturned Pat King's acquittal on intimidation, entered a conviction on that charge, and ordered a new sentencing hearing later this year at Ontario Superior Court.
Crown prosecutors appealed after a trial judge convicted King on five charges but acquitted him of intimidation, arguing his February 2025 sentence of three months house arrest was too lenient against their 10-year prison request.
Judges said there was "overwhelming evidence" King intended to gridlock downtown Ottawa streets and cause distress through continual horn honking before protesters arrived, concluding he played a central role in what the court described as a co-ordinated, targeted attack on residents aimed at forcing the Government of Canada to abandon COVID-19 policies.
At fresh sentencing submissions later this year, King will face a new sentence reflecting both original convictions and the added intimidation conviction; reading Friday's decision to about 27,000 viewers, a tearful King said he would serve time behind bars with his head held high.
The ruling carries implications for other Freedom Convoy cases, as co-defendants Tamara Lich and Chris Barber await their own Ontario Court of Appeal decisions, while King receives credit for 161 days already served in pretrial custody.
The Ontario Court of Appeal found Pat King, one of the organizers of the "Freedom Convoy", guilty of intimidation and ordered a new sentencing hearing.