Bosses of Alberta men accused in plot to murder Mounties still under investigation, court docs suggest
CBC
Alberta RCMP are still investigating several people they believe were issuing orders to the men now accused of plotting to murder Mounties at an anti-pandemic restriction border blockade last winter, newly released court documents show.
Police have identified a suspected leadership team outside of the Coutts border protest site that wanted to see not only vaccine mandates lifted but the "elimination … of the professional political class," according to the documents.
Police ultimately foiled the alleged plan with an early morning Valentine's Day raid that resulted in the seizures of several firearms and the arrests of 13 people, including four men now charged with conspiracy to murder.
In the days leading up to that raid, the documents allege the bosses outside of Coutts repeatedly called and texted the men with orders.
One text message, cited by police, shows the bosses told the men to spread the message that the real goal for the protest included altering Canada's political, judicial and medical systems.
The names of those leading the four men continue to be redacted because they are the subject of an active investigation.
On Wednesday, a Lethbridge provincial court judge lifted a sealing order on parts of four search warrant applications after a legal challenge from a group of news organizations, including CBC, Global, CTV, the Globe and Mail, Postmedia and the New York Times.
These new details are revealed in the applications to obtain phone recordings of the calls made by Anthony Olienick, 40, Jerry Morin, 41, Chris Lysak, 48, and Chris Carbert, 45, from the remand centres where they are being held pending trial. A judge granted those search warrants in May.
Olienick, Morin, Lysak and Carbert are all charged with conspiracy to murder, along with weapons and mischief charges. The details alleged in the court documents have not been tested in court.
Additionally, Olienick has been charged with making or possessing an explosive device, and Lysak has been charged with uttering threats.
The documents detail how police came to believe the four men trained for months, stockpiled weapons and ammunition, and were taking orders from the unidentified bosses.
During the RCMP investigation, Olienick told undercover officers that he believed "all police should die" and said protesters were prepared to "slit [officers'] throats," the court documents allege.
In the months before the Coutts protest, Olienick allegedly told police he met Lysak and Carbert at a gun shop in Lethbridge, according to the summary of his police interview.
He then invited the two men and Morin to his rural property in the Municipality of Willow Creek, outside Claresholm, south of Calgary, where he ran his trucking business.
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