Crown prosecutors are seeking two years of prison time for Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, after the two were found guilty of mischief but had most of their other charges dropped, Barber’s lawyer has confirmed to The Epoch Times.
“The Crown prosecutor wants to lock Tamara Lich and me in prison for two years for standing up for freedom,” Barber said in a social media post on April 15.
In addition to the Crown seeking a penitentiary sentence for Lich and Barber, which involves two years or more of imprisonment, Barber said that the Crown is also seeking to auction off his truck, “Big Red,” which led part of the convoy from Saskatchewan to Ottawa in January 2022.
“It’s not about a vehicle, it’s about erasing hope,“ Barber said in the social media post. ”They want to erase the spirit of the convoy and make an example out of us so no one ever dares to stand up again.”
On April 3, 2025, Lich and Barber were found guilty of mischief, while Barber was found guilty of counselling others to disobey a court order. Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled that there was insufficient evidence for the other charges of intimidation, obstructing police and counselling others to do the same. Both were also found guilty of counselling others to commit mischief, but that finding was stayed at the request of Crown lawyers.
In a social media post on the same day, Lich confirmed that the Crown is seeking two years prison time for the two organizers and has filed an application to confiscate Barber’s truck.
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The Epoch Times reached out to the Crown prosecutor’s office but did not immediately hear back.
Lich and Barber were the main organizers of the 2022 protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions, which culminated in vehicles parking in downtown Ottawa and other locations for several weeks. The Liberal government eventually invoked the Emergencies Act to bring the demonstration to an end.
A public inquiry determined that the government had met the threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act, but a federal judge ruling on a case brought forth by some of the protesters later said that the government’s use of the act was unreasonable and unjustified.
Application to Stay Proceedings
On April 16, Barber’s defence lawyer Diane Magas filed an application in court for a stay of proceedings on the basis of an “officially induced error of law.” Magas argued that Barber sought legal advice from lawyers, police officers, and a Superior Court judge on the legality of the protest he was involved in, and was given erroneous advice.
In the application, Magas said Ottawa Police Service’s incident commander during the protest, Insp. Russel Lucas, had testified that OPS was aware of the protest in advance of its arrival and had approved the plan for where the demonstrators would park. She also said Barber was directed by police officers where to park his truck in downtown Ottawa.
At two injunction hearings related to silencing the honking of truck horns, Barber was told by his lawyer at the time that he could continue protesting in the location as long as he did so peacefully and safely, according to Magas. Barber was also advised by his legal counsel that he could honk his horn in situations of emergency, and that breaching the court injunction against honking would be civil contempt and not a criminal offence.
Barber was charged with counselling others to disobey a court order when he encouraged protesters in a Feb. 7, 2022 TikTok video to honk if they saw police arriving, which violated the court injunction against honking.
Magas said her application for a stay of proceedings applied to Barber because he considered the legal consequences of his actions and sought legal advice, obtained advice from an appropriate official, and reasonably relied on that advice even though it later turned out to be erroneous.
If the justice were to accept Magas’s application and stay the proceedings, Barber’s case would be put on hold and he would likely not face charges.
