Lawyers for Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber make closing arguments

OTTAWA – The defense will hear its closing arguments today in the trial of two prominent organizers of the Freedom Convoy for malicious damage to property.

Prosecutors allege that Tamara Lich and Chris Barber worked together to create criminal unrest in Ottawa for weeks in order to pressure the government to change its pandemic policy.

They were among several protest organizers who planned to fight against compulsory vaccination with demonstrations in the capital in 2022.

Lich and Barber are accused of mischief, intimidation and inciting others to break the law for their roles in the three-week-long demonstration.

The court is expected to hear from Barber's legal team next.

The owner of a Saskatchewan trucking company also faces charges of inciting others to disobey a court order by asking them to honk their horns when they had been forbidden to do so by a judge.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press