One of the most polarizing figures to gain notoriety during what became known as the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa more than two years ago will stand trial Monday, signalling the tail end of criminal proceedings that have dogged hundreds of individuals who participated in the historic protest.
Pat King, from Red Deer, Alta., is facing charges of mischief, intimidation, obstructing police, disobeying a court order and other offences for his role in the protest that gridlocked downtown for nearly a month in early 2022.
Arrested and jailed for five months before his release that summer, King is unlikely to serve more time behind bars if he is found guilty, given laws around credit from time served.
Like other prominent convoy leaders, King’s trial is expected to draw a sizeable crowd outside the Ottawa Courthouse.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
One of the most polarizing figures to gain notoriety during what became known as the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa more than two years ago will stand trial Monday, signalling the tail end of criminal proceedings that have dogged hundreds of individuals who participated in the historic protest.
Pat King, from Red Deer, Alta., is facing charges of mischief, intimidation, obstructing police, disobeying a court order and other offences for his role in the protest that gridlocked downtown for nearly a month in early 2022.
But unlike the trials of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, King’s defence won’t be bankrolled by The Democracy Fund or the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms — both well-mobilized entities with deep ties to libertarian and right-wing backers.
Similarly, many of the convoy supporters and even some of the original core organizers who once shouted slogans against vaccine mandates alongside King have abandoned or distanced themselves from the 46-year-old, who is known for making incendiary remarks.
King, who was granted permission to livestream online for fundraising purposes, admitted to supporters in that final video before he travelled to Ottawa that he’s looking forward to the end of the legal ordeal so he could return to some normalcy.
On Facebook alone, King still draws 339,000 followers, posting videos from events including a highly publicized one featuring Alberta premier Danielle Smith and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Calgary earlier this year.
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As much as I disagree with the convoy movement, it seems that the charges are more politically motivated (anti-far right) than bringing justice. A lot of those charges could be applied to anyone partaking in a protest: mischief, obstructing police, and intimidation are all charges that could potentially be applied to both the convoy and the current ceasefire protesters at various North American campuses; given a literal reading of the criminal code.
besets or watches the place where that person resides, works, carries on business or happens to be;
(b) renders property dangerous, useless, inoperative or ineffective;
Offenses related to public officers:
(a) resists or wilfully obstructs a public officer or peace officer in the execution of his duty or any person lawfully acting in aid of such an officer,
Obviously there’s a double standard where such charges would not even be brought up unless it’s extreme cases. But shall pat King be charged and given a lengthy prison sentence (5 years for example), that’d probably set a precedence for the justice system to be used to deter politically motivated protests; this time it’s the freedom convoy, the next could be Gaza-related protests shall it persist.
that’d probably set a precedence for the justice system to be used to deter politically motivated protests
You need not waste your empathy with this guy because there’s ample precedence already, including earlier rulings for other members of the Convoy. His sentencing even on maximum penalty would change nothing on the already precarious position of righteous civil disobedience for reasonable causes.
And used on first nations protesting pipelines and the like.
