Judge expected to sentence protesters at Coutts border protest

A judge is expected to hand down sentences today for two men convicted for their roles in the 2022 Coutts, Alta., border blockade.

Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were convicted last month of public mischief over $5,000 and possessing a firearm dangerous to the public peace. Olienick was also convicted of possessing a pipe bomb.

A jury found them not guilty of the most serious charge they faced: conspiracy to murder police officers.

The men were charged after RCMP found guns, ammunition and body armour in trailers near the blockade at the key Canada-U.S. border crossing.

The blockade was one of several held across the country to protest COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates.

The Crown argued the two men should serve nine-year prison sentences.

"Mr. Carbert and Mr. Olienick believed they were at war. They were prepared to die for their cause. The very real risk is that a firefight would have occurred," Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston told the sentencing hearing in August.

"It sounds like something we hope doesn't happen in our country. But the reality is it did, and it happened in southern Alberta."

Olienick and Carbert have been in custody since they were arrested in February 2022.

Their lawyers have recommended they be sentenced to time already served.

Two other protesters charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the blockade pleaded guilty earlier this year to lesser charges.

Christopher Lysak was sentenced to three years for possession of a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place. Jerry Morin was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for conspiracy to traffic firearms.