Pat King found guilty of mischief over 'Freedom Convoy' role

Pat King, one of the most prominent faces of the 2022 “Freedom Convoy,” was on Friday found guilty on five counts, including on charges of mischief and disobeying a court order, in an Ottawa court.

King appeared in court on Friday as a Superior Court judge read out the judgement.

King was found not guilty on the charge of intimidation.

King was a prominent figure in the massive demonstration that rolled into the national capital in 2022, which saw protesters entrench themselves on the streets of downtown Ottawa for three weeks.

They were protesting COVID-19 public health restrictions and vaccine mandates, as well as the Liberal federal government.

He had pleaded not guilty to mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, obstructing police and other offences.

Closing arguments in the highly publicized trial were held in May.

King’s lawyer blamed police, city officials and other protesters for allowing tensions to escalate during the demonstration.

The Crown’s case against King rested largely on his own videos, which he posted to social media throughout the demonstration to document it and communicate with protesters.

Crown prosecutor Emma Loignon-Giroux alleged King co-ordinated the honking from massive big rigs across the downtown core, and ordered them to lay on the horn every 30 minutes for 10 minutes at a time.

He also told people to “hold the line,” when he allegedly knew police and the city wanted protesters gone, Loignon-Giroux said in her closing arguments.

She pointed to one particular instance, when King helped move 80 trucks to block off a major street in downtown by “turning it into a three-lane parking lot.” He encouraged his social media followers to help gridlock the city, and led a convoy of trucks who rolled slowly down a local highway and around the Ottawa airport to grind traffic to a near halt, she said.

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“We all have as Canadian citizens the right of freedom of expression and assembly. Those rights are given to us through the Charter, and they’re extremely important, but as I mentioned they’re not without limitations, not without limit,” Loignon-Giroux said.

“They’re not absolute.”

The Crown argued the “Freedom Convoy” became unlawful as soon as it interfered with people’s lawful use and enjoyment of public property, and should be considered as group mischief.

She rejected the notion the case is about freedom of expression and assembly, and said there’s no Charter application before the courts alleging King’s rights have been breached.

The convoy blocked city streets, with people and vehicles remaining in the downtown core for three weeks. Residents have described a state of lawlessness as they were subjected to air horns at all hours of the day and night, open fires in the streets and diesel fumes.

The Liberal government also invoked the Emergencies Act in an effort to quell the protest in Ottawa and at several Canada-U.S. border crossings.

Last year, King had requested that his trial be moved out of Ottawa.

His lawyer, Natasha Calvinho, told the court that his name has been highly publicized ever since. She made a second attempt to convince a judge to move the trial away from Ottawa and argued King is so notorious he would not have a chance at a fair trial in the city.

A judge had denied King’s request.

–with files from Global’s Mackenzie Gray and The Canadian Press