Trial continues for pair of men charged in Coutts, Alta., border blockade

Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators leave in a truck convoy after blocking the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Feb. 15, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The trial of two men accused of plotting to kill police officers at a border blockade in Coutts, Alberta, is underway.

During opening arguments, the Crown prosecutor says Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert believed they were justified in their plot, planning and preparing for what they believed would be an inevitable and violent event.

The men were arrested in 2022 after RCMP found a stash of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers.

The border blockade made national headlines and polarized opinion at the time over its stance against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Canada.

The trial heard from its first witness on Thursday, a Mountie who testified he gave a warning to protesters in February of 2022 that police were planning to take action.

The accused had some 50 supporters in court Thursday while chalk messages in support of them were scrawled on the sidewalk outside the courtroom.