Protesters not guilty of conspiring to kill Mounties at Coutts blockade

A jury returned a verdict of not guilty late Friday for two men accused of conspiring to kill RCMP officers at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta.

A jury returned a verdict of not guilty late Friday for two men accused of conspiring to kill RCMP officers at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta.

But Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were both convicted on other charges of mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick was also convicted of possessing a pipe bomb.

The two were arrested after police found a cache of weapons, ammunition and body armour near the blockade at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in 2022. The blockade was one of several held across the country to protest COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates.

The trial heard statements and text messages from the accused warning that the blockade was a last stand against a tyrannical federal government.

There was a loud gasp in the packed courtroom in Lethbridge, Alta., as the jury announced the acquittal of the most serious charge, conspiracy to commit murder. The men showed little emotion, and the case was put over to Aug. 12 to deal with the convictions on the lesser charges.

"Freedom!" a supporter later said outside the courthouse, and others hugged and cried.

The jury had been deliberating since Wednesday night.