Convoy protest leader Pat King in custody for alleged bail breach

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The lawyer of a ringleader of the 2022 convoy protest says her client has turned himself in for an alleged breach of his bail conditions.

Natasha Calvinho says Pat King “surrendered himself” at the Ottawa courthouse on Wednesday.

“Mr. King will be seeking a bail hearing at the earliest opportunity and intends to vigorously defend against any allegations that he breached his previous bail conditions,” Calvinho said in a statement.

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Calvinho’s statement also said one of King’s bail sureties intended to revoke their status and “there were allegations that Mr. King breached his current bail conditions.”

A bail surety is a person who promises to supervise an accused person while they are out of custody on bail.

It’s not clear what led to King allegedly breaking his bail conditions.

King has pleaded not guilty to mischief, intimidation and other charges for his role in the 2022 convoy protest, which attracted thousands of demonstrators to downtown Ottawa near Parliament Hill in protest against public-health restrictions, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the federal government.

King’s trial wrapped up in late July, with a verdict from Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland expected in early October.

The Crown is relying mainly on King’s own videos, which he posted to social media throughout the protest to document the demonstration and communicate with protesters.

Crown prosecutor Emma Loignon-Giroux alleges King co-ordinated the honking of horns from big rigs across Ottawa’s downtown core, and ordered drivers to sound those horns for 10 minutes at a time every 30 minutes.

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He also told people to “hold the line,” when he allegedly knew police and the City of Ottawa wanted protesters gone, Loignon-Giroux said in her closing arguments.

She pointed to one instance when King helped move 80 trucks to block a major downtown street by “turning it into a three-lane parking lot.” He encouraged his social-media followers to help gridlock the city and led a convoy of trucks that rolled slowly down a highway and around the Ottawa airport to grind traffic to a near halt, she said.

“We all have as Canadian citizens the right of freedom of expression and assembly. Those rights are given to us through the Charter, and they’re extremely important, but, as I mentioned, they’re not without limitations, not without limit,” Loignon-Giroux said.

Calvinho is asking the court to dismiss the charges against King and has blamed police, city officials and other protesters for allowing tensions to escalate during the 2022 protest.

Calvinho argued King was a peaceful protester and was not in any way a “leader.”

“They did have the right to be downtown and peacefully protest,” Calvinho told the court during closing arguments.

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Hackland interrupted both the Crown and defence several times during their closing arguments to ask questions.

He asked Calvinho several times how particular elements of the defence’s evidence were relevant to King and the charges he was facing.

Calvinho often responded that her evidence provided context, which she said the Crown’s case lacked. Ultimately, all levels of government failed Ottawa residents with their response to the protests, she argued, which was not the fault of King or others who protested lawfully.

The justice also questioned whether the Crown had established enough evidence to link King to the mischief at the demonstration.

“I’m seeing a man driving around, shouting out the window,” Hackland said of social-media videos showing King yelling “freedom,” “hold the line” and other messages.

“That’s being a party to mischief because what’s going on in the background is mischief?” the judge asked.

The Crown told the judge the videos shouldn’t be looked at in isolation, but should be considered together to get a full picture of King’s involvement.

With files from The Canadian Press

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