LIVE UPDATES: Three alleged leaders of Coutts blockade stand trial in Lethbridge

The trial for three alleged organizers of the 2022 Coutts border blockade continues today in Lethbridge, Alberta. Recent proceedings have focused on the testimony of Mark Wielgosz, a veteran RCMP officer who acted as a liaison between police and the protesters.

The three men — Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos, and George Janzen — are each being charged with mischief over $5000 and facing up to 10 years in prison for allegedly being leaders of the protest.

The Coutts blockade was an 18-day peaceful demonstration against government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions held at the border of Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana in early 2022.

Halting millions of dollars in trade and occurring concurrently with the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, the protest proved to be one of the most impactful Canada has seen in decades.

Rebel News reporter Robert Kraychik is on the ground at the Lethbridge courthouse, providing independent reporting on the trial of the Coutts Three.

Follow along below for live updates from the trial:

Some courtroom observers laughed when a frame of @jkenney from 2022 was shown and frozen (as part of a transition from longer Rebel News segment) in which the former premier was promoting the mRNA “vaccines” and “boosters” as a wise choice for Albertans. https://t.co/mIhJKvGq4E

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 10, 2024

There isn’t any RCMP video in this trial, despite at least four officers operating as liaisons at the Coutts protest; no body cam footage or audio was captured. Essentially all videos introduced as evidence/exhibits in this trial have been branded with the Rebel News watermark.

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 10, 2024

Coutts Three trial in Lethbridge, AB, about to resume. Crown witness and RCMP officer Greg Tulloch will continue his testimony today, and if the prosecution ends its questioning, the defense teams’ cross-examinations will begin. https://t.co/KGVQVALjFW

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) April 10, 2024