Pat King, one of the organizers of the 2022 convoy protest in Ottawa, is set to be sentenced in an Ottawa courtroom today.
Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland found King guilty on five counts in November, including mischief and disobeying a court order.
King was found not guilty on three counts of intimidation and one count of obstructing police.
The Crown is seeking a sentence of 10 years for King—the maximum penalty.
His defence is asking for time served and probation, since King spent about five months in jail after his initial arrest in February 2022 before being granted bail.
He spent another week behind bars last summer after the Crown alleged he breached his bail conditions.
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The Freedom Convoy protest saw hundreds of trucks and thousands of people gridlock downtown Ottawa for about three weeks in the winter of 2022 to protest public health mandates introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The protest spread to include blockades at Canada-U. S. border crossings at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., and in Coutts, Alta.
On Feb. 14, 2022, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time ever to end the protest. The act gave law enforcement extraordinary powers to remove and arrest protesters and gave the government the power to freeze the finances of those connected to the protests.
The temporary emergency powers also gave authorities the ability to commandeer tow trucks to remove vehicles belonging to protesters.
A four-day police operation began on Feb. 18, 2022 to end the protest that had taken over downtown Ottawa.
The emergency declaration was lifted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 23, 2022.
