Canadian Authorities Crack Down on Peaceful Freedom Convoy, Arresting Organizers and Freezing Their Bank Accounts

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Two top organizers of the Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, were among several protesters arrested in Ottawa Thursday, as Canadian authorities cracked down on the demonstrators, and pushed financial institutions to freeze their bank accounts.

Ottawa police arrested Lich Thursday evening and Barber earlier in the day.

Both remain in police custody and have been charged with a number offenses.

According to the Freedom Convoy Twitter Account, Barber has been charged with counselling to commit mischief, obstruction, and counselling to commit obstruction.

Lich has been charged with counselling to commit mischief.

According to Rebel News, Lich posted a message to social media Wednesday night foreshadowing her arrest.

“There’s a pretty good chance—well I think it’s inevitable at this point—but, uh, I’ll probably be going somewhere tomorrow where I’ll be getting three square meals a day. And that’s OK,’ Lich said.

“I’m OK with that. And I want you to know that I am not afraid,” she added.

Several other protesters were also arrested, the CBC reported.

Lich confirmed to The Canadian Press earlier Thursday that she was there when Barber, a trucker from Saskatchewan, 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.

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

The suit also names fellow convoy organizer Benjamin Dichter.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday invoked the Emergencies Act, giving the government wide authority to crush the anti-vaccine mandate Freedom Convoys.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland vowed to take more bank accounts offline in the coming days in an attempt to deprive peaceful protesters of the funds they need to continue their demonstration in the nation’s capital, according to the CDC.

Freeland, who is also the finance minister, said the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies have been gathering intelligence on convoy protesters and their supporters and sharing that information with financial institutions to restrict access to cash and cryptocurrency.

The law also allows banks to target for account closure donors to the GoFundMe and the GiveSendGo fundraising campaigns that fuelled this protest. Freeland said she wouldn’t get into the “specifics of whose accounts are being frozen.”

The federal government has invoked the Emergencies Act. Here’s what that means
Citing terrorist financing laws, the government has forced crowdfunding websites and payment providers to register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the government’s financial intelligence unit.

In a final warning to the assembled protesters, Freeland said those who have their big rigs on Ottawa’s streets will see their insurance cancelled and their corporate accounts suspended — a move that could make it difficult for these drivers to ever work again.

“The consequences are real and they will bite,” she said. Before she entered politics, Freeland wrote for the Financial Times, The Washington Post and The Economist.

Despite the crackdown, remaining protesters in downtown Ottawa are resolved to stick with their mission until the government lifts the vaccine mandates and passports. Thursday night, the Freedom Convoy posted their Friday “stage lineup” on Twitter.

As the Trudeau government cracked down on peaceful demonstrators in Ottawa, a violent left-wing terror mob attacked a natural gas pipeline worksite in British Columbia.

According to the Times Colonist,  police were called to the the Coastal Gaslink worksite early Thursday “following reports that a group of people, some allegedly armed with axes, attacked security guards and smashed vehicle windows.”

Police say when they tried to reach the worksite they were stopped by a downed tree, tar-covered stumps, boards with spikes sticking out of them and fires along the forest service road.

When officers tried to work their way through the debris, police say several people threw “smoke bombs” and flaming sticks, injuring one officer.

When police made it to the site, they say they found “significant damage” to heavy machinery, other equipment and portable buildings.

About Debra Heine

Debra Heine is a conservative Catholic mom of six and longtime political pundit. She has written for several conservative news websites over the years, including Breitbart and PJ Media.

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