'Their ground zero': Trial hears about murder plot at Coutts border blockade
A Crown prosecutor says two men on trial over the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., conspired to kill police officers and believed they were justified in doing so.
"They planned and prepared for what they believed would be an inevitable, violent event,” Matt Dalidowicz told jurors in his opening statement Thursday.
“They believed in their own minds that they had the right to act violently in response to police enforcing the law to end the blockade.
"They saw this as their ground zero."
Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert are on trial charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the protest in early 2022.
They were arrested after RCMP found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers.
The blockade paralyzed traffic at the busy Canada-United States border crossing for two weeks amid broader protests at what some perceived as unfair and unnecessary government restrictions and vaccine mandates in the fight against COVID-19.
Dalidowicz told jurors that police were faced with a challenging situation when the blockade began that January.
Officers talked with protest leaders but learned more through undercover officers, he said.
"Police discovered a group, within the blockade, that was planning something much more sinister than merely blocking the border," Dalidowicz said, his lectern turned to face the jurors.
"They discovered they were no longer simply dealing with a mere protest. They discovered a plot to kill police officers, if police enforced the law to end the blockade."
The accused are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.
Dalidowicz said jurors will hear wiretap and weapons evidence tied to Olienick and Carbert.
"Planning and preparation prove the plot to kill police officers," he said.
Prosecutors plan to call 23 witnesses, most of them Mounties.
The blockade made national headlines and polarized opinion at the time.
Inside the courtroom, there were about 50 supporters of the accused.
Outside court, there were two chalk messages scrawled on the sidewalk. One said, Free the Coutts Boys. The other: Justice for Tony + Chris. Free Them Now.
Echoes of the divisive national debate were apparent last week, when lawyers on both sides challenged some potential jurors from sitting on the panel.
Justice David Labrenz told lawyers it would be difficult to find jurors not familiar with the case and those who promise to remain impartial should be taken at their word.
That trust didn’t extend to one potential juror, who was dismissed after showing up for jury selection with a picture of the accused on his T-shirt.
Fourteen jurors – five men and nine women – are hearing evidence in the trial and two are to be dismissed before deliberations begin.
Two additional jurors were sent home earlier Thursday, including one who told court her sister’s boyfriend was a cellmate of one of the accused.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Hurricane Helene: Georgia governor says at least 11 people are dead in his state
The Georgia governor says at least 11 people in his state have been killed and dozens are still trapped in homes damaged by Hurricane Helene.
BREAKING New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleads not guilty to taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions
New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty Friday to federal bribery charges and other counts that have roiled the nation's biggest city after months of investigations, searches and subpoenas.
Family of man killed by Calgary police issues statement
The family of Jon Wells, a man killed by Calgary police earlier this month, say they are seeking time to grieve their loss.
Maggie Smith, scene-stealing actor famed for Harry Potter and 'Downton Abbey,' dies at 89
Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for 1969 film 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in 'Downton Abbey' and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89.
BREAKING Israel says it struck Hezbollah's headquarters as huge explosions rocked Beirut
A series of intense Israeli airstrikes hit one of Beirut's heavily populated southern suburbs on Friday as blasts were heard throughout the Lebanese capital.
What's 'chroming'? Experts explain the dangerous social media trend among youths
Chroming, or getting high via inhaling hydrocarbons by misusing a variety of legal products, is trending among adolescents, and it sometimes ends in death.
Police make four more arrests in viral video that showed woman stealing Porsche from Mississauga driveway
Police have arrested four more people in connection with a viral video that showed a woman stealing a Porsche from a Mississauga driveway and then striking its owner as she attempted to flee the scene.
It was supposed to be a brief work trip to Uganda. Now he owes a hospital $30K
A man from Alberta has been at the Medipal International Hospital in Kampala, Uganda for over two months with a hefty medical bill. He says he can’t leave until it’s been paid for.
Complainant breaks down as cross-examination resumes in Hoggard sexual assault trial
Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial is set to resume today with further cross-examination of his accuser, after several heated exchanges on Thursday.