‘Freedom Convoy’ organizer Pat King given 3-month conditional sentence

‘Freedom Convoy’ organizer Pat King was sentenced to three months of house arrest in an Ottawa court this morning.

The sentence includes 100 hours of community service at a food bank or men’s shelter.

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It comes on top of nine months he spent in custody both before and during his trial.

King was found guilty on five of nine charges in November, including mischief and disobeying a court order, for his role in the 2022 protest that took over downtown Ottawa for three weeks.

Justice Charles Hackland says King must remain at his residence, except for three hours on Monday afternoons to “get necessities for life” or for court and community service requirements.

Hackland also told King he must not return to Ottawa except for court appearances and must stay away from six other convoy leaders, including Tamara Lich and Chris Barber.

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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press