Judge gives instructions to jury in murder-conspiracy trial of Coutts protesters

Jurors deciding the fate of two men accused of conspiring to murder police at the Coutts, Alta., border crossing were urged by a judge Wednesday to block out background noise in the high-profile case.

Justice David Labrenz told jurors to focus on the evidence.

"Try and reach a just verdict," Labrenz said in his final instructions in the Court of King's Bench trial in Lethbridge, Alta.

The jury was expected to be sequestered later Wednesday to reach a verdict in the case of Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert.

Along with the conspiracy count, they are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.

The men were arrested after police confiscated weapons and made arrests in shutting down the blockade in early 2022.

The barricade of vehicles at the Canada-U.S. border crossing choked off traffic for two weeks to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. It was one of many demonstrations at the time across the country, as rules aimed at restricting the spread of COVID-19 butted up against individual rights and freedoms.

The Crown, during the trial, presented evidence of guns near the blockade site and statements and text messages from the accused warning that the protest was a last stand against a tyrannical federal government.

The defence said the two men went to Coutts to make a statement that freedoms must be protected but argued it doesn't equate to a conspiracy to kill.

Jurors saw texts exchanged among protesters, who characterized the blockade as a "last stand," with one staying he was prepared to go out in a "body bag."

The judge told jurors that to convict on the murder conspiracy charge, they have to find there was collusion to commit violence and, if so, that Olienick and Carbert were part of it.

"It is the agreement that is the key," Labrenz said. "You're to decide if there was a conspiracy. If the common purpose is to commit a crime, then it is a conspiracy."

Labrenz also directed the jury not to read anything into views expressed by Olienick and Carbert disparaging police.

"You can't punish the accused for their bad behaviour," he said.