Protesters not guilty of conspiring to kill Mounties at Coutts blockade

LETHBRIDGE -

A jury returned a verdict of not guilty late Friday for two men accused of conspiring to kill RCMP officers at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta.

But Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were both convicted on other charges of mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick was also convicted of possessing a pipe bomb.

Defence lawyers for both men said the right decision had been reached.

"The jury put in a lot of hard work and came to the right decision on the (conspiracy to commit) murder charge," said Katherin Beyak, who represented Carbert. "I think it was an overcharge to begin with, and I'm glad they came back with the verdict they did."

"I've never believed since I took on this file that were was evidence that would support a finding of guilt in that (conspiracy to commit murder)," said Marilyn Burns, who represented Olienick," so it's always a tremendous relief of course, but it's not surprising -- we had a very thoughtful jury that took plenty of time to think it over."

Lawyer Katherin Beyak said after a verdict was reached late Friday night of not guilty against her client Chris Carbert that she believed the charge of conspiracy to murder police officers was an overcharge by the Crown

Cache of weapons

The two were arrested after police found a cache of weapons, ammunition and body armour near the blockade at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in 2022. The blockade was one of several held across the country to protest COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates.

The trial heard statements and text messages from the accused warning that the blockade was a last stand against a tyrannical federal government.

There was a loud gasp in the packed courtroom in Lethbridge, Alta., as the jury announced the acquittal of the most serious charge, conspiracy to commit murder. The men showed little emotion, and the case was put over to Aug. 12 to deal with the convictions on the lesser charges.

"Freedom!" a supporter later said outside the courthouse, and others hugged and cried.

The jury had been deliberating since Wednesday night.

Outside the Lethbridge, Alta. courthouse after a late-night verdict was announced in the Coutts conspiracy case, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Photo: Karsen Marczuk)

2 months of testimony

The verdicts capped two months of testimony in a case that involved accusations of undercover femmes fatales, government conspiracies, text message bravado and satanic references.

The trial heard that Carbert called police “losers” and “the enemy.” In texts to his mother, he equated the blockade to a war, telling her if police came in and they lost the fight at Coutts, he would likely die in a wider conflict.

Olienick told undercover officers posing as protest volunteers that if the blockade was lost, the next step might be an invasion from United Nations troops or Chinese communists.

He said if police tried to storm the barricade, he would “slit their throats.”

His lawyer accused one of the undercover female officers of flirting to get information, which the officer denied. The officer testified heart emojis on texts between her and Olienick indicated she liked the messages, not the messenger.

Olienick dismissed police as compliant toadies of “devil” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He also messaged a friend to feed his cat, if he didn't make it out alive.

After his arrest, when he learned the blockade failed and everyone had left, Olienick was seen on video distraught in an empty police interrogation room, saying aloud, "I'm sorry, God."

The defence didn’t contest the epithets and warnings but argued they didn't equate to a conspiracy to kill.

Police found the guns, ammunition and body armour in trailers near the blockade and more guns, ammunition and two pipe bombs at Olienick’s home in Claresholm, Alta.

Olienick’s lawyer argued the bombs were for industrial use.

Challenging trial

The trial proved a challenge for jurors and reflected the tense, emotional public debate over pandemic rules and freedoms.

Four days into the trial in early June, jurors parking their cars in front of the courthouse were greeted with a message scrawled in chalk on a sidewalk: 840 Days Plus Already, Let the Coutts Boys Out of Jail Now.

Two similar messages had been left on the other side of the courthouse the day before a British Columbia man was charged with obstruction of justice and banned from the courthouse.

The judge rejected a defence request for a mistrial.

Two other protesters were also charged with conspiracy to commit murder at Coutts. In February, Christopher Lysak and Jerry Morin pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Lysak was sentenced to three years for possession of a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place, and Morin was sentenced to 3 1/2 years for conspiracy to traffic firearms. Both sentences amounted to time the men had already served in pretrial custody.

With files from Karsen Marczuk