Freedom Convoy Protester Pat King to Be Released on Bail
https://www.theepochtimes.com/freedom-convoy-protester-pat-king-to-be-released-on-bail_4604822.html
Pat King, a prominent figure during the Freedom Convoy protest this winter, has been granted bail and will be released after spending 150 days in jail.
The decision, delivered on July 18 by Superior Court Justice Anne London-Weinstein, comes after a two-day bail review for King last week in an Ottawa court. The proceedings were placed under a publication ban.
King will be released later today and is ordered to leave Ottawa within 24 hours to return home to Alberta, where he is required to live with a surety.
His bail conditions ban him from using social media and from taking part in activities related to the convoy. King is also prohibited from contacting convoy organizers including Chris Barber, Benjamin Dichter, Tamara Lich, and Tom Marazzo unless in the presence of legal counsel.
He is also expected to adhere to a curfew between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
He has waited for several months in jail to hear whether he would be released on bail since he last appeared in court in April. His bail review came to an abrupt halt after his lawyer’s computer was allegedly hacked.
A day after the April hearing, the Crown announced new charges against King, with three counts each of perjury and obstruction of justice. These charges were in addition to 10 charges related to his involvement in the three-week-long protest in Ottawa, which includes mischief, intimidation, obstructing police, and disobeying a court order.
The Freedom Convoy started in late January, initially to protest the federal government’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed on all cross-border truck drivers. The protests soon turned into a national movement with many joining in to call for an end to other pandemic-related restrictions.
The convoy ended after the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 and police cleared the demonstration in an escalated operation over a few days.
King, who was arrested on Feb. 18, has since remained in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre.
Despite being a visible figure, King isn’t one of the Freedom Convoy organizers, according to a lawyer from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which represents several of the convoy leaders.