Convoy protest organizers Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, Pat King arrested in Ottawa

Three keyorganizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich,Chris Barber and Pat King,havebeen arrested in Ottawa.

Ottawa police took Lich and Barberinto custody in separate arrests Thursday and both remained in police custody on Friday, which is whenKing was arrested as part of a larger police presence in downtown Ottawa.

Lich and Barber are each charged with counselling to commit mischief. Barber is also charged with counselling to disobey a court order and counselling to obstruct police.

The two havebeen described askey leaders of the occupation in Ottawa, which has now hit the three-week mark. Their arrests were amongseveralmade Thursday and Friday. Barber was seen afew blocks from Parliament Hill in handcuffs between two police officers.

Lich and Barber are scheduled to maketheir first court appearances in Ottawa on Friday.

King, who is from Alberta, is also expected to face criminal charges.

WATCH |Police make several arrests as they securedowntown Ottawa:

Some protesters arrested as police secure downtown Ottawa

3 years ago

Duration 3:31

Police in Ottawa have set up nearly 100 checkpoints to turn a large part of downtown into a secured zone as part of a long-anticipated plan to remove protesters, and several arrests have already been made.

Lich confirmed to The Canadian Press earlier Thursdaythat she was there when Barber, a trucker fromSaskatchewan, was arrested and led away.

Lich said she was resigned to the fact that she was going to jail, adding her personal bank account had been frozen.

WATCH |Protest organizer Tamara Lich speaks with reporters before her arrest:

Protest organizer Tamara Lich speaks with reporters before her arrest

3 years ago

Duration 1:22

Convoy organizer Tamara Lich spoke with reporters just before 7 p.m. Thursday evening at Metcalfe and Wellington Streets in Ottawa.

They are two of thethree protest organizers named in a proposedclass-action lawsuit filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by lawyer Paul Champ on behalf of his client, 21-year-old public servantZexi Li.

The suit also names fellow convoy organizerBenjamin Dichter.

Earlier this month,Barber responded tocriticism that the protest was negatively affecting Ottawa residentsby saying organizers had "empathy" for local residents.

• Downtown protest organizers stick to message: All COVID-19 mandates must end

"We understand your frustration and genuinely wish there was another way for us to get our message across, but the responsibility for your inconvenience lies squarely on the shoulders of politicians who have [preferred] to vilify and call us names rather than engage in respectful, serious dialogue," he said at the time.

WATCH | Convoy protest organizer arrested in Ottawa: