‘No plan’: Accused in Coutts murder-conspiracy trial denies plot to kill police

Chris Carbert brought guns and assemblage armour to nan Coutts blockade, but says location was nary scheme for unit unless he had to possibly fly to nan mountains and fend disconnected personification trying to springiness him a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
“There was nary plan,” Carbert told tribunal Friday nether questioning from his lawyer astatine his proceedings successful Lethbridge.
“Were you progressive successful immoderate benignant of scheme aliases statement to onslaught constabulary officers successful Coutts?” Carbert was asked by lawyer Katherin Beyak.
“Absolutely not,” he said.
“Why would I person rumor pinch police? They’re much aliases little benignant of heroes successful occidental culture.”
Carbert and Anthony Olienick are connected proceedings together successful Court of King’s Bench accused of colluding to execution constabulary officers astatine nan Coutts blockade.
The blockade astatine nan U.S.-Alberta separator constituent tied up postulation for 2 weeks successful early 2022 to protestation COVID restrictions, including vaccine mandates for truckers.
Carbert said he saw Coutts arsenic an opportunity to get free of nan trucker vaccine mandates.
He said if that didn’t happen, things were not going to move retired good.
“And what do you mean by not good?” Beyak asked.
“Likely successful violence,” he said.
He admitted to bringing weapons pinch him to Coutts arsenic good arsenic modified assemblage armour.
“It’s sewage aggregate functions, evidently for hunting aliases eden forbid for protection if it ever sewage to that,” he said.
“It’s successful location for nan logic it’s successful there, (such as) if I was heading to nan mountains and they came each nan measurement retired location to springiness maine a vaccination aliases something. Then perhaps.”
Carbert was asked astir a bid of matter messages he exchanged pinch his mother during nan standoff.
One matter connection read, “Mom, I americium fine. If they commencement nan violence, I americium conscionable telling you location will beryllium warfare and casualties of war.”
The matter added, “I don’t deliberation you genuinely understand what this is for and about. If we suffer here, I will apt dice successful war.”
Beyak asked astir nan exchange.
“We had our differences and retired successful Coutts (Mom) kept asking maine to spell home,” he said.
“I kept telling her, ‘No, we’re not. I’m not leaving until nan mandates are dropped.'”
All protesters near quickly and peacefully aft constabulary seized weapons adjacent nan blockade and made arrests.
Carbert and Olienick are besides charged pinch mischief and possession of a limb for a vulnerable purpose. Olienick faces a further complaint of possessing a tube bomb.
The Crown has presented witnesser and beingness grounds to reason that Olienick and Carbert were colluding to termination police.
Officers seized weapons, assemblage armour and ammunition successful trailers adjacent nan blockade, on pinch a firearms licence successful Carbert’s name.
They later located much weapons, buckets of ammunition and 2 tube bombs astatine Olienick’s home.
Undercover officers person quoted Olienick telling them he considered Coutts nan ngo of a life and if constabulary tried to unopen down nan barricade he would “slit their throats.”
In a constabulary interrogation video shown to nan jury, Olienick is seen denying he targeted constabulary but saying he feared an penetration by United Nations troops aliases Chinese communists.
The proceedings will resume Tuesday. The Crown will person an opportunity to cross-examine Carbert.
This study by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2024.

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