Tamara Lich and Chris Barber Found Guilty of Mischief in Freedom Convoy Trial

By Anibal Pouros

Recently, the CEOs of NPR (Katherine Maher) and PBS (Paula Kerger) faced a barrage of questions from House Republicans during a congressional hearing titled "Anti-After more than a year of legal proceedings, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, key organizers of the 2022 "Freedom Convoy" protest in Ottawa, have been convicted of mischief by Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey. The verdict, delivered in a detailed 105-page decision on Thursday, marks a significant conclusion to one of Canada’s most high-profile cases tied to the anti-COVID-19 mandate demonstrations that gripped the nation’s capital three years ago.

The trial, which unfolded in an Ottawa courtroom, centered on the duo’s roles in orchestrating the weeks-long protest that saw truckers and supporters clog downtown streets, honk horns incessantly, and disrupt daily life in a bid to pressure the federal government into lifting pandemic restrictions. Lich was found guilty solely of mischief, while Barber faced an additional conviction for counselling to disobey a court order—an injunction prohibiting truck horn use in the city core—alongside his mischief charge.

Justice Perkins-McVey ruled that the evidence clearly demonstrated Lich and Barber’s encouragement of protesters to persist in their actions, despite awareness of the severe toll on Ottawa residents and businesses. The judge pointed to prolonged noise, traffic gridlock, and economic disruption as evidence that the protest crossed into unlawful territory. “Their conduct went beyond the limits of a peaceful demonstration,” Perkins-McVey stated, emphasizing that the pair’s leadership amplified the chaos that engulfed the capital for nearly three weeks in early 2022.

The Crown had argued throughout the trial that Lich and Barber acted in concert, leveraging the convoy’s presence as a tool to coerce policy change, an effort they deemed a public nuisance under the law. Prosecutor Moiz Karimjee highlighted text messages and public statements from the organizers as proof of their intent to sustain the disruption. In contrast, defense lawyers Diane Magas and Lawrence Greenspon contended that Lich and Barber championed a peaceful movement rooted in free expression, pinning the blame for any fallout on inadequate police and municipal responses.

While the mischief convictions stood, other charges fell away. The Crown had initially pursued intimidation and additional counselling counts, but these were either dropped or stayed due to overlap with the mischief charge. Perkins-McVey noted that intimidation, which requires a clear element of violence or menace, was not substantiated by the evidence, preserving a distinction between the convoy’s disruptive impact and outright criminal threats.

The ruling arrives as a bittersweet moment for supporters of the Freedom Convoy, many of whom still view Lich and Barber as folk heroes standing against government overreach. Outside the courthouse, a small crowd of demonstrators waved flags and chanted slogans, echoing the convoy’s original spirit. Yet for Ottawa residents who endured the protest’s effects—business closures, sleepless nights, and restricted mobility—the verdict offers a measure of vindication.

Sentencing remains pending, with no immediate timeline announced. Legal analysts suggest that penalties could range from fines to jail time, depending on the court’s assessment of the harm caused and the defendants’ degree of remorse. Lich, who spent weeks in custody following her arrest in February 2022 before being released on bail, and Barber, who faced fewer pre-trial restrictions, now await their next chapter in a saga that has polarized Canadian public opinion.

The Freedom Convoy, sparked in January 2022 as a trucker-led revolt against vaccine mandates, ballooned into a broader anti-government movement, drawing thousands to Ottawa and inspiring copycat protests worldwide. Its legacy—celebrated by some as a triumph of grassroots dissent, decried by others as a costly overstep—continues to reverberate. Thursday’s verdict, while closing one legal battle, is unlikely to settle the deeper societal debate it reflects.

As the courtroom emptied, Lich and Barber declined to comment, leaving their supporters to parse the ruling’s implications. For now, the gavel has fallen, but the echoes of the convoy’s horns linger on.

Anibal Pouros is the Editor In Chief Of Vertias Expositae.

You can reach him at editor@veritasexpositae.com