One of the two men convicted last year for mischief and weapon possession during the Coutts, Alta., border blockade has been granted bail as he appeals his conviction and six-and-a-half year sentence.
Alberta appeal court Justice Jo’Anne Strekaf granted Chris Carbert’s release in a June 30 ruling. She noted that “despite the serious nature of the offences at issue” Carbert had established his detention was “not necessary in the public interest.”
A jury found Carbert and Anthony Olienick guilty of mischief over $5,000 and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace last fall during the 2022 blockade at the Coutts border crossing in opposition to COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates. They were found not guilty on charges of conspiring to kill RCMP officers, but Olienick was convicted of possessing a pipe bomb….