Accused in Coutts murder-conspiracy trial told police he feared attack by Chinese

By The Canadian Press on June 26, 2024.

Weapons and ammunition seized by the RCMP are shown in a 2022 handout photo. The trial of two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., is expected to hear more from one of the accused in a video statement he gave to police. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - RCMP, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – A man accused of conspiring to kill Mounties at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., says he was fighting a larger battle against tyranny and potential foes, like Chinese communists and the United Nations.

The comments from Anthony Olienick were heard in court in a videotaped police interrogation from 2022.

Asked by police if he made direct threats to harm officers, Olienick replies no but adds, “Unless you guys are shooting at us first. But it wouldn’t be you guys. It would be UN guys or Chinese.”

Earlier in the police interview, Olienick expresses concern about Canada being taken over by a communist regime.

“That’s all that I want to do. I want to defend myself against some tyranny and that’s it,” he tells the officer.

“I’m not going to be the first guy who’s going to do it. I’m going to be the guy that’s going to end it if it happens.”

Olienick and Chris Carbert are on trial charged with conspiring to murder police at the blockade, which paralyzed traffic at the Canada-U.S. border in early 2022 to protest COVID-19 restrictions.

Olienick and Chris Carbert were arrested after Mounties found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers parked in Coutts near the blockade.

Female undercover officers have testified Olienick told them police were the pawns of the federal government and should be hanged, and that if officers raided the blockade he would “slit their throats.”

He also characterized to the undercover agents that the blockade represented the fight and mission of his life.

The officer in the interrogation pushed Olienick about those comments.

“Was there any conversation where you might have been fired up or anything like that or this might have been misconstrued?” Cpl. Andrew Olfert asks in the video.

“If it was talking at the time about politicians or something like that and some generic thing,” Olienick replies.

“Anything specific though?” the office asks.

“Anything like, ‘I’m going to kill cops?'” the officer asks.

“Not that I would outright say,” Olienick says.

Olienick and Carbert 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.

Olienick’s lawyer has argued his client’s comments to the undercover officers were misconstrued and when Olienick talked about “slitting throats” it could have meant officers would be figuratively cutting their own throats if they tried to dismantle the blockade.

The defence has also suggested one undercover officer broke legal and ethical rules by flirting with Olienick to gain information, as text messages between her and Olienick featured heart emojis.

The officer rejected the flirting allegation. The hearts, said the officer, indicated she liked the comments, not the person.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2024.

– By Bill Graveland in Calgary

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