Judge expected to sentence protesters at Coutts border protest

The blockade was one of several held across the country to protest COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates.

The Crown argued the two men should serve nine-year prison sentences.

“Mr. Carbert and Mr. Olienick believed they were at war. They were prepared to die for their cause. The very real risk is that a firefight would have occurred,” Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston told the sentencing hearing in August.

“It sounds like something we hope doesn’t happen in our country. But the reality is it did, and it happened in southern Alberta.”

Olienick and Carbert have been in custody since they were arrested in February 2022.

Their lawyers have recommended they be sentenced to time already served.

Two other protesters charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the blockade pleaded guilty earlier this year to lesser charges.

Christopher Lysak was sentenced to three years for possession of a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place. Jerry Morin was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for conspiracy to traffic firearms.

Those sentences amounted to time the men had already served.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Judge expected to sentence protesters at Coutts border protest

What's Trending