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Canadian 'Freedom Convoy' protest leader found guilty

www.dw.com Canadian 'Freedom Convoy' protest leader found guilty – DW – 11/23/2024

Canadian right-wing activist Pat King was convicted of five charges and could face up to 10 years in jail. The judge said he incited protesters to rail against COVID-19 protocols in early 2022.

Summary

Pat King, a key figure in Canada’s 2022 “Freedom Convoy” protests, was found guilty on five charges, including mischief and counseling others to obstruct police, and faces up to 10 years in prison.

The protests, which blocked downtown Ottawa and key US-Canada border crossings for weeks, opposed COVID-19 mandates imposed by Prime Minister Trudeau’s government.

King was accused of inciting the blockade, coordinating disruptive actions like constant honking, and defying court orders.

He is the first protest leader convicted, while trials for other organizers are ongoing.

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51 comments

I really do hate people who conflate freedom with some notion that they get to be an asshole without any repercussions.
- People in the US like to cry first amendment (freedom of speech, etc) any time something they say has consequences.
  Sexually harass a coworker? Freedom of speech!
  Business owner says something bigoted and people stop patronizing their business? Freedom of speech!
  Funny how the same people with wE tHe PeOpLe bumper stickers are the ones who haven’t actually bothered to read the bill of rights.
  
  Convites in Canada like to cry first amendment too. Just not Canada's first amendment in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Citing the US constitution. In Canadian courts.
  Dwayne Lich, husband of arrested convoy leader Tamara Lich, told the judge at his wife's bail hearing that he was relying on his "First Amendment rights." CBC Feb 22
  imo worse than Yanks confused and offended they can't bring their guns when they go shopping in Toronto. Just dumb over-entitled main characters.
  
  Holy crap that’s wild. I can’t believe the right-wing disinformation campaign in the US is so extreme that it’s leaking beyond our borders.
  Kinda reminds me of when the “sovereign citizens” claim that they are a “vessel” and therefore fall under maritime law.
  “Whoa, you sure do know some words that are tangentially related to the matter at hand.”
  
  It's been bonkers. We had one qanon grifter declare herself Queen of Canada and she has irl cultists follow her from town to town. During the worst of the pandemic, she had them sending death threats to healthcare workers (because Freedom). But even the main followers of the border shutdown and capitol occupation were frothy screwballs.
  Like, they really shouldn't have turned her facebook off!
  From my point of view, the right-wing disinfo campaign is global. Copy-paste. Conservatives up north are even using a lot of the exact same media relations people as yours down south.
  
  Man that just sucks. I’ve seen a lot of reporting about the more “conservative” ideologies growing in several EU countries as well. It’s so disheartening. The whole movement is just convincing average people to vote/protest/etc against their own best interests, and oh by the way, education is bad too so don’t get educated or you might see through the charade!
- What they want is 4chan but in real life.
  That’s the thing tho, 4chan only works because no one gets to punch you in the face regardless of what you say.
  
  Absolutely

51 comments