Accused in Coutts blockade trial feared food shortages, questioned COVID-19 vaccine

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — One of two men accused of conspiring to kill police at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., says he was worried about government overreach, food shortages and the COVID-19 vaccine.

Chris Carbert began testifying in his own defence Thursday at the murder-conspiracy trial in Lethbridge.

He and Anthony Olienick are both charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the blockade, which tied up traffic for two weeks at the busy Canada-U.S. border crossing in a protest over COVID-19 rules.

Carbert told the jury that he didn’t trust the COVID-19 vaccine for him or his son.

“By the fall of 2021 what opinions, if any, had you formed in relation to whether or not you would take the vaccine?” asked his lawyer Katherin Beyak.

“There was no way I was taking it because I didn’t trust it. It was a new vaccine. Standard vaccines, they usually take seven to 10 years to come to where they figure out if they’re safe and effective, and within a year of brand-new technology they wanted you to put it inside your body,” said Carbert.

“Not happening.”

Carbert, 47, was also concerned about the government introducing the need for vaccine passports especially when it would involve truckers because of the impact on the food chain.

“The way my mind thinks is if you have problems with the food chain (and) they were already kind of hard on the unvaccinated … we were definitely going to be the last people to be able to have any of that food if we’re having shortages,” he said.

“They only respected the people who took the vaccine and the people who were coerced to take the vaccination.”

Carbert said he and a number of others decided to go to Coutts in a show of support.

“I felt that it was important. To me this was a good statement to make,” he said.

“What statement were you trying to make?” Beyak asked.

“Telling the government that we’ve had enough.”

Carbert said he met Olienick as part of a group of “preppers,” sharing information on how to prepare for emergencies and natural disasters.

He was asked if he had any firearms.

“Lots of ’em,” he replied.

Carbert testified he was ill for much of his time while in Coutts and didn’t often see Olienick despite sharing a trailer.

He said he was in the trailer when someone told him there were arrests. Carbert said he looked for information online but did nothing.

“I just sat there. I fell asleep,” he said.

“What woke you up?”

“The loud horn that was hailing for people to come outside.”

Carbert said he talked to a lawyer before doing anything.

“Because I was panicking obviously. I went out. Then I locked my trailer,” he said.

“I was arrested.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2024.

— By Bill Graveland in Calgary

The Canadian Press