Jurors hear closing arguments in trial for three men charged in Coutts blockade

A Crown prosecutor making the case against three men charged with mischief at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., told jurors Tuesday they don’t have to determine the accused were kingpins of the protest in order find them guilty.

A Crown prosecutor making the case against three men charged with mischief at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., told jurors Tuesday they don’t have to determine the accused were kingpins of the protest in order find them guilty.

Steven Johnston said if jurors are satisfied the three were demonstrably supporting the blockade, they should be convicted of mischief over $5,000.

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

“One act, one statement of encouragement can be enough to convict.

“The Crown does not have to prove these men were the leaders.”

Johnston made the comment in closing arguments at the trial of Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos, and Gerhard Janzen in Lethbridge, Alta.

The Crown said evidence shows the accused were key players and became faces of the blockade that tied up traffic at the Canada-United States border crossing at Coutts for two weeks in early 2022 in a protest of COVID-19 rules and restrictions.