LETHBRIDGE, Alberta — A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer said in his conspiracy to murder trial that multiple weapons were found inside a travel trailer parked near the 2022 border closure in Coutts, Alberta.
LETHBRIDGE, Alberta — A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer said in a conspiracy to murder trial that multiple weapons were found inside a travel trailer parked near the 2022 border closure in Coutts, Alberta.
Sergeant Gary McLaren testified that he saw an assault rifle on the bed, a shotgun on a kitchen worktop, another rifle under the mattress and several boxes of ammunition.
Officers also found a machete, two sets of bulletproof vests, a driver's license and a firearms license belonging to one of the suspects, Chris Carvert, police said.
Carvert and Anthony Olienik were charged with conspiracy to murder after police searched the trailer and two other vehicles parked on Coutts' property.
The trial revealed that the landowner had allowed the two defendants and other protesters to stay there.
They also heard testimony from an undercover mounted police officer who said Olynyk viewed the blockade as a war and expressed hatred of police and a desire to kill them.
Blockades in protest against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccination mandates have paralyzed traffic at busy Canada-U.S. border crossings for two weeks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2024.
Canadian Press
