Bail hearing held for man accused of conspiring to murder RCMP officers at Coutts border blockade

A bail hearing took place Tuesday for one of the four men charged with conspiring to murder RCMP officers at the Coutts border blockade.

Christopher Lysak, 48, faces three other charges, including threatening an RCMP officer, mischief and a weapons offence.

ProsecutorMatt Dalidowicz argued against Lysak's release while defence lawyer Jim Lutz told the judge his client should be granted bail.

• Coutts arrests: new details on the men and women charged in border blockade

A publication ban covers all of the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Vaughan Hartigan said he would likely deliver his decision on Wednesday morning.

Weapons, body armour seized

Thirteen people were charged Feb. 14 following incidents involving physical threats to RCMP officers' safety and raids on trailers near the protest area, which resulted in the seizure of a cache of weapons and body armour.

The on-and-off blockade of the busy border crossing by people opposed to COVID-19 health restrictionslasted more than two weeks before protesters pulled out the day after the arrests.

Four of those charged Lysak, Chris Carbert, 44, Anthony Olienick, 39, and Jerry Morin, 40face more serious charges that include conspiracy to murder RCMP officers.

Carbert, Olienick and Morin each have a bail hearing scheduled to take place this week.

Ties to white supremacist group

CBC News has previously reported that Carbert and Lysak both have ties to Jeremy MacKenzie, the Nova Scotia founder of Diagolon.

Thegroup has been described by University of New Brunswick professor David Hofmann asan American-style militia movement.

Members of Diagolonwant to establish a white nationalist state through violence, according to Hofmann.

Lysak appears in a photo with MacKenzie. He also appears in a photo posted by MacKenzieof the Coutts protests. In that image, Lysak is wearing a tank topwithwhat appears to be the Diagolon symbol on the front.

Two Diagolon patches were found on body armour seized by police during the execution of the Coutts search warrants.