Two of the most prominent organizers of the February 2022 Freedom Convoy protest have been found guilty of mischief at the Ottawa courthouse, ending one of the longest-running criminal trials in the city's history.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVey of the Ontario Court of Justice found Tamara Lich and Chris Barber guilty of mischief, both as principal offenders and as aiders and abettors, for their roles in the downtown demonstration that gridlocked Ottawa streets for weeks.
Both were acquitted of the more serious charges they faced of intimidation and obstruction, as well as of counselling others to commit those offences, the Western Standard reported.
Lich and Barber had each faced six charges of mischief, obstruction, intimidation and counselling others to commit the same acts. Barber faced a seventh charge of violating a court order, on which he was found guilty after the judge ruled he encouraged honking despite a Superior Court injunction against honking in downtown Ottawa.
The offense of counseling others to commit mischief is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Perkins-McVey made that remark in delivering the counselling verdict, though the Western Standard reported there was confusion in the courtroom over whether that charge was stayed at the Crown's request, with the judge expected to clarify.
The judge began Thursday's hearing by dismissing the Crown's Carter application, which would have allowed evidence against one accused to apply to the other on the theory that they conspired together. The dismissal meant Lich and Barber were each judged on their own words and actions.
Perkins-McVey read from a 105-page decision, telling the court she wanted to finish delivering it in a single day, according to multiple accounts from inside the courtroom.
The judge found that Lich's widely repeated phrase "hold the line" amounted to a rallying cry to protesters. She stated that while the right to peaceful protest is protected, it must be balanced against the criminal means used during the demonstration, and that when freedom of expression collides with public order, the former must give way.
The Crown had argued the accused, through their stated wish for an end to COVID-19 mandates, violated the rights of others to move freely through the city. The defence maintained the two always encouraged followers to adhere to the law.
The trial began September 5, 2023 and ran more than a year. The verdict was postponed several times — first to November 2024, then to March 2025 and again to April 2025 — a delay Perkins-McVey attributed in part to significant court backlog.
Lich has said publicly the federal government spent roughly $5 million prosecuting her for mischief.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled separately, with a date to be announced.
Reactions outside the courtroom were swift. The Democracy Fund, which supported the defence, called it a landmark decision with profound implications for civil liberties in Canada.
John Carpay of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms questioned why Crown resources were devoted to a 31-month prosecution of protesters while, as he noted, dozens of sexual assault cases in Ontario have been tossed out since 2016 due to court delays.