Truck convoy trial continues with video of accused

Crown prosecutors continued to play hours of video during the seventh day of trial for Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, organizers of the self-described "Freedom Convoy" in Ottawa who are facing criminal charges for the role they played in the 2022 protests.

But the recordings are not being submitted as evidence right now because the judge overseeing the matter has yet to determine if Crown prosecutors will be able to rely on them and other evidence pulled from social media to build their case. 

Lich and Barber are facing charges that include mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, intimidation and obstructing police for their role in the weeks-long protest that snarled up downtown Ottawa in winter 2022.

The videos the judge will rule on include press conferences featuring Lich with other convoy leaders, a video she made the night before her arrest, videos taken from a social media page and others. 

In a Feb. 14 press conference, Lich promised the protest would stay peaceful even as the federal government was preparing to use the Emergencies Act to clear the streets. 

"No matter what you do, we will hold the line," Lich said in the video. 

Crown prosecutors are relying on the videos to help them demonstrate Lich and Barber had control and influence over the protest in their capacity as leaders. They are also trying to establish whether evidence against one of them should apply to both, essentially arguing the two acted in tandem.

Crown prosecutor Tim Radcliffe told the court he wants to share the statements on social media made by Lich and others on the official "Freedom Convoy 2022" Facebook page.

He said the posts don't exist in a vacuum and the context of them is important because it shows the scope of influence the two accused had over their supporters.

Radcliffe said it is important for the court to consider what was said — and not said — on social media to that audience.

Asked to provide an example of what was not said, Radcliffe said "go home," "park somewhere else" and "stop honking."

Multiple videos used

The videos are also being used as examples of instances where Lich appears to be encouraging supporters to stay in Ottawa despite being told by police to leave. 

That includes when Lich told protesters to "hold the line" as she was being led away in police handcuffs on Feb. 17, two days after the Emergencies Act had been invoked. 

A major police operation to clear the streets of protestors entirely began the following morning.

A video filmed on the eve of her arrest shows a tearful Lich predicting her pending arrest as she describes an expectation of being sent somewhere with "three squares a day." 

In the video she tells her supporters to "keep fighting the good fight" and encourages them to come to Ottawa and "stand with us."

Ottawa police Sgt. Joanne Pilotte was a witness helping Crown lawyers identify specific videos for the court. Pilotte, the fourth officer to testify for the Crown who has now been on the stand for several days, was responsible for capturing videos from the protest posted online. 

Lawyers will be able to argue whether the evidence can be used at a later date.

The defence began its cross-examination of Pilotte as Wednesday's sitting ended. 

Counsel for Barber, Marwa Younes, had started showing a series of videos from Barber's TikTok page where he talks about the protest staying peaceful and co-operating with police. 

The Crown is hoping to call more than 20 witnesses to testify against Barber and Lich. 

Lawyers for the defence are arguing the already-slow-moving trial could drag on longer if downtown residents and business owners are allowed to testify as the Crown intends.

The trial is days behind schedule and the court is already looking at adding time to the proceedings.

Should residents be allowed to testify?

Earlier this week, Lich's lawyer Lawrence Greenspon attempted blocking testimony from a handful of proposed Crown witnesses whose testimony he says would be irrelevant to anything at issue in the case. 

Crown lawyer Siobhain Wetscher called the evidence of the witnesses "critical." She said they lived through the disruption the convoy inflicted on downtown Ottawa, and could give first-hand observations relevant to its impact on the city.

But Greenspon said the evidence is unnecessary because the defence is willing to admit to some of those allegations, including that "there were individuals who interfered with the enjoyment of property" in downtown Ottawa.

"We've made that admission, so why do we have to spend two and a half days, and it may be more, getting the Crown to prove that we've admitted it?" he said.

One of the witnesses on the Crown's list is Zexi Li, a plaintiff in a civil trial against the convoy organizers. Justice Heather Perkins-McVey, who is presiding over the criminal trial, noted that Li "may have an underlying motive" for testifying.

Perkins-McVey is expected to rule on the admissibility of the evidence and the witnesses later in the trial.