Delay in sentencing for three ringleaders convicted of mischief at Coutts blockade
Demonstrators against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions leave in a truck convoy after blocking the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing near Coutts, Alta., on Feb. 15, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)
The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and co-ordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.
Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos, and Gerhard (George) Janzen were all found guilty by a jury of one count each of mischief over $5,000 in April.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Friday but the lawyer for Van Huigenbos is no longer representing him.
Van Huigenbos needs time to retain new counsel and a sentencing date will now be set Oct. 17.
The three were charged for their roles in a blockade that tied up cross-border traffic between Canada and the United States at Coutts for two weeks in early 2022 in protest of COVID-19 rules and restrictions.
The maximum sentence for public mischief over $5000 is 10 years in prison.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 27, 2024.
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