Alberta protester sentenced for his role in 2022 COVID border blockade

Alex Van Herk enters the courthouse for a sentencing hearing in Lethbridge, Atla., Jan. 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -- The last of three protesters convicted of mischief for his role in a border protest in southern Alberta has been given a 90-day conditional sentence to be served in the community.

Alex Van Herk will also perform 100 hours of community service and be on one year’s probation for his role in the Coutts blockade.

The blockade was held to protest COVID-19 rules.

It tied up traffic for days at the U.S. border in 2022.

In passing sentence, the judge noted Van Herk was not one of the leaders of the blockade and is on his way to rehabilitation.

Van Herk’s lawyer says Van Herk is remorseful for what he did and recognizes there was no justification to break the law.

Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston had asked for a three- or four-month term in jail to send the message that political beliefs don’t justify criminal behaviour.

The courtroom, as it has been through all the cases so far, was packed with members of the public.

Van Herk was one of three men found guilty of mischief for their roles in the 2022 blockade, which tied up traffic at the U.S. border to protest COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates.

The two others convicted alongside Van Herk have already been sentenced.

Van Herk’s sentencing was delayed in January after he fired his lawyer.

The Canadian Press