EXCLUSIVE: Prosecution witness in freedom truckers trial ADMITS there’s no evidence Lich and Barber were ringleaders

A prosecution witness in the trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber suggested Tuesday that the Freedom Convoy protest was more spontaneous and not organized and rigidly led by Lich and Barber.

Ottawa Police Service Sgt. Jordan Blonde, appointed as a liaison officer between Barber and the police, described the Freedom Convoy protest as “unattached” and not “aligned with anybody” in his testimony.

He was part of a police unit assigned to “message” protesters that they had to leave Ottawa’s downtown. 

"I don't believe the people I spoke with over three weeks in February 2022 had the same wishes and desires," Blonde said. "They had the same general reasoning for being in the capital city at that time."

The Crown is trying to establish that Lich and Barber were ringleaders of the protest and encouraged protesters to disregard the instructions of the police.

The pair are charged with mischief, counseling others to commit mischief, intimidation, and obstructing police as leaders of the Freedom Convoy that polarized residents of Ottawa in 2022 and arguably began to roll back Covid mandates.

Social media videos played by both the Crown and the defense have shown Lich and Barber telling anyone protesting mandates to be respectful of local residents and to obey the instructions of the police.

Defense attorney Lawrence Greenspon questioned Blonde at length about his observations as a liaison officer. He could not confirm that a single protester told him that they were in Ottawa because of Lich or Barber’s presence in the city and said he could find no evidence in his notes that any protesters had used the phrase, “Hold the line” – a rallying cry heard from Lich during the protest and the title of her book documenting her experiences during the Freedom Convoy protest. 

During cross-examination from Greenspon, Blonde spoke of “many different groups and factions” present during the protest, “singular demonstrators” as well as the curious sightseers who were just there to watch the proceedings because it “generated a lot of interest.”

Last week the Crown dropped a previous bail violation charge against Lich. The trial resumes Friday with the judge promising to issue a ruling on whether some internal police documents should be allowed as evidence in the trial.