Crown, defence spar over takeaways from Pat King videos
Crown argues King was a leader, but his lawyer rejects this
In videos taken from Pat King's social media and shown in court on day five of his criminal trial, the key figure in what became the Freedom Convoy urges supporters not to leave Ottawa and asks law enforcement to "stand down."
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. King has pleaded not guilty to nine charges.
Over three days of testimony, a criminal intelligence analyst walked through videos taken from King's social media during the protests, now being used as evidence against him by Crown prosecutors.
In a Feb. 9 video, King tells supporters to contact him if they need cash and asks people in Ottawa with big rig trucks to meet him the next morning. On Feb. 10, King and other protesters circled the Ottawa International Airport for about two hours.
In the same video, he says this was approved by "higher ups" and that there were several logistics experts helping the protesters. He then says he is just a "social media guy" before winking at the camera three times.
'Nobody is going anywhere'
Prosecutors are arguing King was a leader of the protests who used his control and influence to commit many of the crimes he is accused of.
King rejects this, and his lawyer Natasha Calvinho is arguing he was not a leader. She pointed to instances in videos shown where King references being asked to complete tasks and taking "clear orders" from others.
In other videos shown in court, King says he "cannot leave Ottawa and none of these trucks are leaving Ottawa."
Crown prosecutor Moiz Karimjee argues statements like this, when taken in full, are a declaration that King would not leave the city despite being told by police and authorities to do so.
In a Feb. 14 video made the same day the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, King states: "Nobody is going anywhere," and continues to stress the protest was a peaceful one.
"Hold the line, stand your ground, don't go anywhere," he told his supporters.
Two days later, on Feb. 16, King posted a video of him in downtown Ottawa sharing similar sentiments of not going anywhere: "We'll leave when we get the mandates lifted."
Following the Feb. 17 arrests of convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, who are also facing criminal charges, King made videos for each encouraging supporters to honk their horns for five minutes in support of them.
In one of those videos, he also tells supporters to park on Highway 417 and walk into downtown Ottawa if that's what they need to do to get there, and says he is working to ensure supply lines for the truckers will continue to flow.
'Love and peace'
King posted frequently and regularly on social media during the protests to an audience of more than 300,000 followers.
During her submissions, Calvinho pointed to sections of the videos introduced by the Crown where King tells supporters to continue being peaceful and encourages them to stop harassing certain individuals including a tow truck driver who was asked to help remove a structure from Confederation Park.
Calvinho argues the Crown is attempting to paint King with a certain brush, and the fuller picture is important to consider.
Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland, who's overseeing the judge-alone trial, said he could see generally how there was some effort by King to mitigate some issues arising during the convoy.
In a Feb. 16 video, King tries appealing to law enforcement, telling them to "stand down from your orders." He tells them to "back off, stand down, put your badge down and stand with the people."
Calvinho argues the theme of the video is "love and peace."
More video evidence expected
In a Feb. 17 video posted by King, he tells supporters he didn't want a riot and to remain peaceful, and encourages those who want to leave where to go to regroup.
"Mr. King indicates there are options, he indicates options for people to get out of Ottawa if they choose to leave," Calvinho said. "It really does show it was more about: get out, regroup, this is what you can do and we have options. It wasn't, 'Dig in, stand your ground.'"
King was arrested Feb. 18, the day of a major police operation to clear Ottawa streets. He remained in jail for five months before being released on bail.
His trial is sitting for three non-consecutive weeks and is expected to end later in the summer. More video evidence is expected to be introduced by King's lawyer when the trial continues Wednesday.
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