Sentencing hearing for Coutts mischief convictions set for fall

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on July 24, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A sentencing hearing will be held later this fall for three men found guilty earlier in the year of mischief for their participation in the COVID-19 blockade at Coutts in 2022.

Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos and Gerhard (George) Janzen, whose matters were back in court Monday, are scheduled to return to Lethbridge Court of King’s Bench on Sept. 27 where their lawyers and the Crown will argue their sentencing positions before the judge.

The three men stood trial in April for their roles in a blockade that stopped traffic between Canada and the United States near the Coutts border for two weeks in early 2022 in protest of COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. The Crown maintained they helped lead and coordinate the protest.

Jurors deliberated for three hours April 16 before finding each of the trio guilty of one count of mischief over $5,000. The three men were consoled afterward outside the court by a group of their supporters.

Following the guilty verdict, a pre-sentence report (PSR) was ordered for all three men. A PSR typically provides the court with the background and personal circumstances of an accused to help determine a fit sentence. The maximum sentence for public mischief over $5000 is 10 years in prison.

During closing arguments to the jury at the conclusion of the trial, Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston said that for jurors to return a guilty plea, they only needed to find the three men were participants in the blockade.

“The right to protest does not let you lay siege to property for two weeks,” Johnston said. “It was not their highway to close.”

He said one act or statement of encouragement can be enough to convict, and the Crown doesn’t have to prove the men were the leaders. He added the evidence showed the accused were key players, became faces of the blockade and spoke on behalf of protesters.

Defence lawyers didn’t call evidence during the trial, and the accused did not testify, but in cross-examining witnesses, the defence argued the trio was not guilty because the demonstration involved numerous strong-willed protesters who didn’t always publicly agree.

Defence lawyer Ryan Durran told jurors his client, Van Huigenbos, was not a leader but was turned into a messenger by the RCMP.

“Marco becomes like a switchboard operator connecting calls,” said Durran.

“Marco was there to convey a message. He stumbled into a role where he was a spokesman. Marco gave the RCMP the news of the day.”

Lawyer Michael Johnston, representing Van Herk, said his client tried unsuccessfully on two occasions to convince the protesters to leave and was concerned about breaking federal laws.

“Not everyone at the protest is guilty of a crime,” Johnston said.

Janzen’s lawyer, Alan Honner, said his client was always willing to help other protesters sort out their problems as well as work with the RCMP.

During the trial officers testified that as the protest dragged on, leadership coalesced around the three accused, and RCMP increasingly turned to them to negotiate.

-with files from The Canadian Press

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