Jurors hear closing arguments in Coates' impeachment trial

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. –

A Crown attorney prosecuting three men accused of rioting at a border fence in Coates, Alta., told jurors Tuesday they don't need to identify the defendants as protest kingpins to find them guilty.

Stephen Johnston said if the jury were satisfied the three supported the blockade, they should be convicted of mischief over $5,000.

“The right to protest does not allow you to fence off property for two weeks. It's not their highway is closed,” Johnston told the Crown Court.

“One act, one incentive may be enough to convict.

“The Crown does not have to prove that these people were leaders.”

Johnston made the comments during his closing remarks at the trial of Alex Van Herck, Marco Van Huygenbos and Gerhard Janzen in Lethbridge, Alta.

The Crown said evidence showed the defendants were key players and the face of a two-week traffic-bound blockade at the Canada-United States border crossing in Coates in early 2022 in protest of COVID-19 regulations and restrictions.

Johnston said the defendant supported the blockade. He told jurors that the three spoke on behalf of the protesters and that the evidence left “no doubt that these men are guilty.”

“They use the words 'We are the Coates Convoy,'” Johnston said.

“They're not just messengers, they're using 'We, our and us'.”

The defense did not present any evidence during the trial, and the accused did not testify.

However, during the questioning of the witnesses, the defense claimed that the trio was not guilty because the demonstration was attended by many strong-willed protesters, who always openly disagreed and sometimes left during the protest.

Defense attorney Ryan Durran told jurors that his client, Van Huygenbos, was not a leader but was turned into an informant by the RCMP.

“Marco is like a switchboard operator connecting calls,” Durran said.

“Marco was there to deliver a message. He stumbled into the role of press secretary. Marco gave the RCMP the news of the day.”

Durran said Van Huygenbos was part of a group that failed to end the blockade.

“So much for leadership. He didn't start. He didn't follow it and he didn't finish it. But he delivered the message.”

Durran said the three defendants could not be blamed for the actions of a “mob”.

The Crown called several witnesses during the trial, including Mounties who were at the scene and former Coates Mayor Jim Willett.

Officers said that as the protest dragged on, leadership rallied around the three accused and the RCMP would increasingly turn to them for negotiations.

Sergeant. Greg Tulloch said in court last week that he had been working to establish a dialogue with the protesters and had identified Van Huygenbos as a key contact.

Tulloch said he considered Van Huygenbos to be at the center of the protest's inner circle, followed by Janzen and, to a lesser extent, Van Herck.

The defense pointed to a video of the “Smuggler's Saloon” where protesters gather, where Van Herk can be heard asking everyone to vote to leave, only to be met with resistance.

“I don't care, let him come,” says a man in the video.

“The only way I can leave is in a (police) cruiser,” said another.

Willett was asked while investigating whether there was a single group responsible for the protest.

“It was a bunch of people I didn't know driving a lot of cars and they were upset. It affected me,” Willett said.

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 16, 2024.