Leader of Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions gets 3 months house arrest

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — One of the most prominent figures from Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 was sentenced to three months of house arrest on Wednesday.

Pat King, 47, was found guilty in November of five criminal charges including mischief and disobeying a court order. He faced up to 10 years in prison.

In its ruling Wednesday, an Ontario Superior Court judge gave King nine months credit for time already spent in custody before and during his trial. On top of the house arrest, he will have to complete 100 hours of community service at a food bank or men’s shelter.

Two other organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, are awaiting the outcomes of their trials.

The February 2022 protests, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, were sparked by a Canadian government vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the U.S.-Canada border.

Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of protesters clogged the streets of the capital, Ottawa, and besieged Parliament Hill for three weeks in early 2022, demonstrating against vaccine mandates for truckers and other precautions and condemning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

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Truckers also blockaded U.S.-Canada border crossings in protest.

The truckers’ convoy gridlocked downtown streets around Parliament Hill, with area residents complaining about the fumes from diesel engines running non-stop, and unrelenting noise from constant honking of horns and music from parties.

Trudeau’s government ultimately invoked the Emergencies Act to try and bring an end to the protests. Ottawa Police brought in hundreds of officers from forces across Canada.

The Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted economic trade. For almost a week the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit was blocked. It carries more than 25% of trade between the countries, who are each other’s largest trading partners.