The organizers of the Canadian Freedom Convoy are being hit with new charges. This comes as the Ontario government looks to ban various forms of protest with a new bill.
Pat King, one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy, was hit with additional charges on Thursday, as was announced by local media. King is charged along with Tyson George Billings, another organizer. The charges are as follows:
- intimidation and obstructing police (2 counts)
- mischief
- counselling to commit mischief
- counselling to obstruct police
- counselling to intimidation
- disobeying a court order
- counselling to disobey a court order
But King and Billings are not alone in facing additional charges. Both Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have been accused of more crimes by the Ottawa Police. The charges are as follows:
- mischief
- counselling mischief
- intimidation
- counselling intimidation
- counselling obstruction of police
- obstructing police
This comes as the Ontario government tables legislation that will ban protests, specifically those that block border crossings, international airports, and cross-border railway lines. However, critics have slammed the language on the bill.
A director at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has publicly denounced the bill, calling it vague and overly broad. “I think what this does or has the potential to do is sort of remove from people’s arsenal some protest tactics,” Cara Zwibel told the media. Some have interpreted this bill as being meant to ban protests of all kinds.
