Verdicts expected March 12 in criminal trial of 'Freedom Convoy' organizers

Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich pictured in this 2022 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA — An Ontario judge is slated to deliver verdicts March 12 in the criminal trial of 'Freedom Convoy' organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich.

Barber and Lich are co-accused of mischief, intimidation and counselling people to break the law for their roles in a 2022 demonstration that blocked Ottawa streets and infuriated residents.

The complex trial featured a huge body of evidence related to the three-week protest.

The Crown aimed to prove the two conspired to essentially hold residents hostage to the noise and blockades to pressure the government to change its COVID-19 public health policies.

The defence argued the two accused simply exercised their fundamental rights to assembly and expression as part of a legal protest.

The trial, which stretched out over the course of a year, wrapped up in September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2025.