Freedom Convoy GoFundMe organizer denied bail due to 'substantial likelihood' to 're-offend,' could face 'lengthy' prison term
In a controversial move Tuesday, a judge in Ottawa, Canada, denied bail for a leading organizer of the Freedom Convoy trucker protests, claiming she presents a "substantial likelihood" to "re-offend."
The decision immediately garnered attention across Canada, as critics noted that even alleged violent offenders, in some cases, are granted bail. Yet Tamara Lich, a 47-year-old mother and activist from Alberta, won't be afforded the option.
Lich was arrested and charged Thursday with counseling to commit mischief after having raised over $10 million through a since-halted GoFundMe campaign sponsoring a groundswell of protests over the national COVID-19 vaccine mandate and other restrictions placed on truckers operating in Canada.
For weeks, thousands of protesters had camped out in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, and along border crossings with the U.S., demanding an end to the restrictions.
In her ruling Tuesday, Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois said she was not convinced that Lich would go home quietly and discontinue her counseling activity if released on bond.
"I cannot be reassured that if I release you into the community that you will not re-offend," Bourgeois said, according to the Ottawa Citizen. "Your detention is necessary for the protection and safety of the public."
"This community has already been impacted enough by some of the criminal activity and blockades you took part in and even led," the judge added, according to CBC. "You have had plenty of opportunity to remove yourself and even others from this criminal activity but obstinately chose not to and persistently counseled others not to either."
"In Canada, every citizen can certainly disagree with and protest against government decisions but it needs to be done in a democratic fashion in abidance with the laws that have been established democratically," Bourgeois concluded.
Lich is scheduled to return to court on March 2. Following the bail denial, Lich's attorney, Diane Magas, said she was preparing a bail review application for her client in hopes it would be considered as soon as next week.
In court on Tuesday, Bourgeois warned that Lich's crimes will likely carry a lengthy prison sentence if a conviction is rendered.
"There is no doubt here on conviction you are certainly facing a potentially lengthy term of imprisonment," she said.
Prior to her arrest, Lich reportedly said she wasn't worried about facing charges since she believed her protest was legal. She also claimed that her bank account was frozen under a sweeping measure known as the Emergencies Act, invoked by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week.
Breaking: Canadian judge rules that police can forcibly remove truckers blocking bridge to the US
A Canadian judge ruled in favor of the City of Windsor and some business groups calling for law enforcement to forcibly remove truckers that are blocking access to a bridge to the United States.
Officials argued that reduced traffic across the Ambassador Bridge has caused economic damage to both countries.
"The economic hardship that this occupation is having on international trade is not sustainable, and it must come to an end," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who noted that about one third of the trade between the two countries flows through the blocked bridge.
Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz agreed and ordered the injunction to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Business groups had petitioned the government to stop the blockade in order to keep trade flowing across the international bridge.
“We respectfully urge the Canadian government to act swiftly to address the disruption to the flow of trade and its impact on manufacturers and other businesses on both sides of the border,” read a statement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable.
“The business community is rolling up its sleeves to find workarounds and keep facilities up and running, but we are already seeing some production cuts, shift reductions, and temporary plant closures," they added.
Businesses on both sides of the bridge reported that they had to slow down their operations because of the restricted traffic.
Earlier on Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a state of emergency and said that demonstrators might be imprisoned or fined if they persist in the protest.
“Let me be as clear as I can: there will be consequences for these actions, and they will be severe. This is a pivotal, pivotal moment for our nation," said Ford.
On Thursday the Biden administration called on Canada to use federal powers to stop the trucker protests and offered assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.
"Whatever their intended, stated purpose is, this effort is going to have the potential to have a huge impact on workers and the American public," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday about the truckers.
Some protesters vowed that they would return even if police removed them for a time.
"You can bring police right now, remove us, guess what's going to happen tomorrow?" said one unidentified protester to a reporter from the National.
"More people will show up! End of story!" he added.
Here's more about the injunction to end the trucker blockade:
Injunction sought to end Ambassador Bridge blockadewww.youtube.com
Freedom Convoy: Video shows Ottawa police seize fuel; mayor declares state of emergency and says city is 'losing this battle'
Canadian authorities began cracking down on the Freedom Convoy this weekend. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency on Sunday in an effort to contain truckers who have protested peacefully in Canada's capital.
“Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” the city said in a statement. “It also provides greater flexibility within the municipal administration to enable the City of Ottawa to manage business continuity for essential services for its residents and enables a more flexible procurement process, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.”
Watson said that Ottawa was “outnumbered” and “losing the battle” against the truckers' protest.
“The situation at this point is completely out of control, because the individuals with the protest are calling the shots," Watson said on Sunday. "They have far more people than we have police officers, and I’ve indicated to the chief that we have to be much more nimble and proactive when it comes to these activities.”
“It should have ended days ago, there’s no question about that," the mayor continued. "The nerves of the residents, particularly in the downtown core, are frayed beyond belief. They are suffering, and the protesters do not seem to have any understanding of how insensitive they are, blaring horns and sirens and fireworks, and turning it into a party. … Bringing in bouncy castles and saunas and hot tubs is the height of irresponsibility.”
“Clearly, we are outnumbered and we are losing this battle right now,” Watson said. “This has to be reversed; we have to get our city back.”
"The state of emergency gives our staff and our city a few extra tools to speed up things like procurement," he told the CBC News Network on Sunday night.
"We're in the midst of a serious emergency, the most serious emergency our city has ever faced, and we need to cut the red tape to get these supplies available to our police officers and to our public works staff," Watson said.
Watson added that the city had 60 new RCMP officers sworn in on Saturday to help contain the trucker protest.
Around 2 p.m. on Sunday, the Ottawa Police Department declared that anyone providing fuel and materials supporting the truckers can be arrested.
"Anyone attempting to bring material supports (gas, etc.) to the demonstrators could be subject to arrest. Enforcement is underway," the Ottawa Police tweeted.
IMPORTANT: Anyone attempting to bring material supports (gas, etc.) to the demonstrators could be subject to arrest. Enforcement is underway. #ottawa #ottnewspic.twitter.com/tp4e5d2xe1— Ottawa Police (@Ottawa Police) 1644173572
Ottawa Police dismantled the trucker convoy's logistics camp, and confiscated propane tanks and fuel.
There is a long row of tow trucks at the ready to remove transport trucks \nI see 30 police officers dismantling the logistics camppic.twitter.com/LXWPv7tFcg— Judy Trinh (@Judy Trinh) 1644194339
Right now police with help of fire dept seem focused on removing the gas and propane tankspic.twitter.com/Sm2I5ZjJsn— Judy Trinh (@Judy Trinh) 1644195605
Section 8 of the Charter of Rights reads \u201cEveryone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.\u201d Without a search warrant, this is just theft. Governments are used to violating our privacy now, aren\u2019t they? And the media love it.pic.twitter.com/UOYAK6OoF8— Ezra Levant \ud83c\udf41 (@Ezra Levant \ud83c\udf41) 1644197218
Shortly after 9 p.m., the Ottawa Police Service announced that it had "made multiple arrests in relation to several enforcement actions" in regards to the trucker protest. The Ottawa Police also said, "Multiple vehicles and fuel have been seized."
"More than 100 Highway Traffic Act and other Provincial Offence Notices were issued including excessive honking, driving the wrong way, defective muffler, no seat belt, alcohol readily available and having the improper class of driving license," the announcement reads. "There are over 60 criminal investigations so far related to the demonstration. They are primarily for mischief, thefts, hate crimes, and property damage."
GoFundMe freezes Freedom Convoy fundraiser after it hits $10 million as Ottawa city councillor presses prime minister to 'cut off' group's funds
GoFundMe has paused the viral fundraising page for Canada truckers' 2022 Freedom Convoy after it hit $10 million on Wednesday, according to Fox News.
The fundraiser has been created to primarily offset costs of fuel and contribute to food and lodging for demonstrators.
Truckers and other demonstrators have been protesting in Canada's capital for at least the last week.
What are the details?
All new donations are disabled at the time of this reporting, and a note that states "Under Review" is now at the top of the crowdfunding page.
The note states, "This fundraiser is currently paused and under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations. Our team is working 24/7 and doing all we can to protect both organizers and donors. Thank you for your patience."
A spokesperson for the company told Fox on Monday that it needs to ensure that the funds will be sent to intended recipients.
"Recent events in Ottawa, Canada, have generated widespread discussion about the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser on GoFundMe," the spokesperson explained. "We wanted to provide clarity around the actions that our global Trust & Safety and Customer Care teams take every day, just as they have with the Freedom Convoy fundraiser."
The company added that the company will continue to monitor the fundraiser to "ensure the funds are going to the intended recipients and that the fundraiser remains within our Terms of Service."
"Our monitoring includes maintaining close communication with the organizer as well as collaborating with local law enforcement," the company said in its statement. "This process takes time and may slow down the withdrawal process. If the fundraiser does violate our Terms of Service or does not directly benefit the intended beneficiary, we will remove it from the platform."
On Wednesday, City Councillor Diane Deans, who is also chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board, called on Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to petition GoFundMe to freeze protesters' access to the donations.
"They’re funding these mercenaries and that funding stream needs to get cut off,” she said, according to a Toronto Star report.
Fox reported that the page has "far exceeded the amount raised by Canada's major political parties last quarter."
The Star reported Thursday that the fundraiser is now the second largest in Canada, following a campaign created following the Humboldt Broncos 2018 bus crash.
Caught on tape: SHOCKING video reveals what Trudeau's 'hateful' and 'violent' protesters are really doing
Addressing the convoy of truckers protesting COVID vaccine mandates, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "There is no place in our country for threats, violence or hatred."
Trudeau has refused to meet with the convoy of protestors, who have remained in the downtown area of Ottawa since last weekend, saying he has "chosen to not go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric, violence towards fellow citizens and a disrespect, not just of science but of the frontline health workers, and quite frankly, the 90 per cent of truckers who have been doing the right thing to keep Canadians safe, to put food on our tables."
"What Trudeau is trying to do there is frame this as ... these are terrorists, they're white supremacists — the behavior of some of these people," BlazeTV host Dave Rubin said on "The Rubin Report." "Now, that's interesting. I've been watching an awful lot of videos of these people, and they're in trucks, they're waving flags, and there are scary words like 'liberty' and 'freedom' on the flags ... and I thought ... we've got a staff of people here. Can we find video of the bad behavior?"
Dave's team did indeed find video footage of anti-mandate protesters engaged in the shocking behaviors of cleaning up garbage after protests, shoveling sidewalks, and even — gasp! — apologizing politely for bumping into one another.
Watch the video clip below to see more of this revealing video footage or find more from "The Rubin Report" here.
Can't watch? Downliad the podcast here.
Will the Freedom Convoy's Surprise Move Force Justin Trudeau to Respond? | DM CLIPS | Rubin Reportyoutu.be
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