Trial resumes for two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder at blockade

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — The trial of two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the 2022 blockade at Coutts, Alta., resumes today.

Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert are on trial in Court of King’s Bench on charges surrounding the blockade, which snarled traffic at the Canada-U.S. border for two weeks to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

Olienick and Carbert were arrested after Mounties found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers in the area.

The two are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.

The trial heard from two female undercover RCMP officers last week who testified that Olienick considered the blockade a war, and expressed a hatred of police and a desire to kill officers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press