Kingpins or go-betweens? Jurors hear closing arguments in Coutts blockade trial
A Crown prosecutor making the case against three men charged with mischief at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., told jurors Tuesday they don’t have to determine the accused were kingpins of the protest in order find them guilty.
Steven Johnston said if jurors are satisfied the three were demonstrably supporting the blockade, they should be convicted of mischief over $5,000.
“The right to protest does not let you lay siege to property for two weeks. It was not their highway to close,” Johnston told the panel in Court of King's Bench.
“One act, one statement of encouragement can be enough to convict.
“The Crown does not have to prove these men were the leaders.”
Johnston made the comment in closing arguments at the trial of Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos, and Gerhard Janzen in Lethbridge, Alta.
The Crown said evidence shows the accused were key players and became faces of the blockade that tied up traffic at the Canada-United States border crossing at Coutts for two weeks in early 2022 in a protest of COVID-19 rules and restrictions.
Johnston said the accused clearly supported the blockade. He told jurors the three spoke on behalf of protesters, and the evidence “should leave you with no doubt these men are guilty.”
“They use the words, ‘We — the Coutts convoy,'" said Johnston.
"They are not some mere messengers. They use the words, ‘We, our and us.'"
Defence lawyers did not call any evidence during the trial, and the accused did not testify.
However, in cross-examining witnesses, the defence argued the trio is not guilty because the demonstration involved numerous, strong-willed protesters who didn’t always publicly agree and sometimes went their separate ways during the protest.
Defence lawyer Ryan Durran told jurors his client, Van Huigenbos, was not a leader but was turned into a messenger by the RCMP.
“Marco becomes like a switchboard operator connecting calls,” said Durran.
“Marco was there to convey a message. He stumbled into a role where he was a spokesman. Marco gave the RCMP the news of the day."
Durran said Van Huigenbos was part of a group who failed to end the blockade.
“So much for leadership. He didn’t start it. He didn’t control it, and he didn’t end it. But he carried the message.”
Durran said the three accused cannot be blamed for the actions of “a horde of protesters."
The Crown called a handful of witnesses during the trial, including Mounties who were at the scene and former Coutts mayor Jim Willett.
The officers testified that as the protest dragged on, leadership coalesced around the three accused, and RCMP increasingly turned to them to negotiate.
Sgt. Greg Tulloch told court last week that he worked to establish a dialogue with the protesters and identified Van Huigenbos as the main contact.
Tulloch said he considered Van Huigenbos to be at the centre of the inner circle of the protest, followed by Janzen and, to a lesser degree, Van Herk.
The defence pointed to a video from the protesters’ gathering spot, Smuggler's Saloon, where Van Herk is heard asking for a vote to try and get everyone to leave but is met with opposition.
"I don't care, let 'em come," says one man on the video.
"The only way I'm leaving is in a (police) cruiser," says another.
Willett was asked under cross-examination if there was any one group in charge at the protest.
"It was a bunch of people I didn't know, driving a bunch of vehicles, who were upset. That was the impression I got," Willett said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.