UPDATE: The sentencing hearing has been reduced to two people. On Thursday, court was informed that the lawyer for one of the men convicted, Alex Van Herk, has been fired. Van Herk has asked for a 30-day delay to obtain a new lawyer, which was granted. Sentencing submissions for Van Huigenbos and Janzen are continuing as planned.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled to start in Lethbridge today for three men who were convicted of helping organize a blockade at the Coutts border in early 2022.
In April 2024, Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos and Gerhard (George) Janzen were each found guilty of mischief over $5,000.
The three were charged for their roles in the barricade over COVID-19 rules and restrictions that held up cross-border traffic for two weeks. During their trial, defence lawyers did not call evidence and the three accused did not testify.
The sentencing hearing is anticipated to last two days.
In September, two other men convicted for their roles in the border blockade at Coutts were each handed a prison sentence of six-and-a-half years.
READ MORE: 6 ½-year sentences handed down to two men for roles in 2022 Coutts border blockade
Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were both convicted of mischief over $5,000, as well as possession of a firearm dangerous to the public peace in August.
Additionally, Olienick was found guilty of possession of a pipe bomb. Neither man was found guilty of the charge of conspiracy to murder police officers at the blockade.
The blockade at the Coutts border to the United States shut down traffic on both sides of the border for nearly two weeks in February 2022.
