Mark Slapinski
A prosecutor in Ottawa wants to hold the lead organizer of the “Freedom Convoy” in prison and deny her bail after she was charged with counselling to commit mischief, stating that releasing the mother would “make a mockery of [the] justice system.” Tamara Lich is currently in jail as she awaits the judge’s decision on bail, which is expected on Tuesday.
Tamara Lich and several other “Freedom Convoy” organizers were arrested Thursday and charged with counselling to commit mischief, and other offences. While one of the organizers, Chris Barber, has already been freed on bail, Lich and her associates are being held until at least Tuesday. Lich organized the GoFundMe and GiveSendGo fundraisers, which generated millions of dollars in donations. The government has since frozen her bank accounts. Crown attorney Moiz Karimjee is pressuring the judge to keep her in jail until trial, while her lawyers argue to have her released.
The Crown’s argument is that Lich “has no respect for the law” and she has “rich friends” that could help “fundraise more money.” Lich maintains she did nothing wrong, and felt she wasn’t breaking the law. The protest in Ottawa was mostly peaceful, as indicated by multiple media outlets. Toronto 99 journalists were on scene during the protests for a number of days and did not observe any violence or harassment.
