‘Freedom Convoy’ organizer Pat King asks to move trial out of nation’s capital
Global News
An Ontario court judge says he's unlikely to grant "Freedom Convoy'' organizer Pat King's request to move his criminal trial out of Ottawa.
King was among the original group of organizers that brought big-rigs and other trucks to the capital city to protest COVID-19 public health restrictions in early 2022.
His lawyer, Natasha Calvinho, told the court Tuesday that his name has been highly publicized ever since. She made a second attempt to convince a judge to move the trial away from Ottawa and argued King is so notorious he would not have a chance at a fair trial in the city.
Several people charged during the demonstration have been denied similar requests, including convoy organizer James Bauder and former Ontario MPP Randy Hillier.
Calvinho argued King had a greater notoriety than most other convoy organizers and even Hillier, who represented an Ottawa-area riding for about 15 years.
King “was and still is more highly publicized than most other peoples involved in the Freedom Convoy,” she told the court.
The exceptions, she said, are protest organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, whose joint criminal trial began in September.
The Crown argued King’s situation more closely resembles that of Bauder, whose request to move his trial was denied in part because he wasn’t a well-known person.
The Crown has asked for the request to be dismissed, and Calvinho acknowledged in court that King’s request would be an “uphill battle” for her to argue.
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