Crown recommends 9 years in prison for protesters at Coutts border blockade

A Crown prosecutor says two men convicted of mischief and weapons offences at the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., should spend nine years in prison.

A Crown prosecutor says two men convicted of mischief and weapons offences at the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., should spend nine years in prison.

Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were convicted earlier this month of public mischief over $5,000 and possessing a firearm dangerous to the public peace. Olienick was also convicted of possessing a pipe bomb.

A jury found them not guilty of the most serious charge they faced: conspiracy to murder police officers.

Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston told a sentencing hearing Thursday that the case isn’t about the right to protest government policy and believing in a cause doesn't excuse committing a crime.

"This case has never been, nor should it be, about the idea of what the cause was … was the cause good? That is not what this court should be weighing," Johnston said.

"The relative goodness, (or) how hard you believe in your cause, does not excuse criminality. The question now before the court is what's the appropriate sanction?"

Johnston is also asking for a 10-year weapons prohibition ban for Olienick and a lifetime ban for Carbert.