Four protestors at Canada’s so called “freedom” convoy have been arrested for conspiracy to commit murder against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Following a tip-off about an armed extremist group within the protest, a police squad descended on a group of campers in Coutts, Alberta on Monday morning.
CBC News say police seized 13 long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armour, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition, and high-capacity magazines.
Chris Carbert, 44; Christopher Lysak, 48; Anthony Olienick, 39; and Jerry Morin, 40, are now in custody for their plot to kill police officers.
They each face an additional charge for possessing weapons with dangerous intent, while Mr Lysak also faces another charge for uttering threats.
RCMP deputy commissioner Curtis Zablocki told CBC News “The dangerous criminal activity occurring away from the TV cameras and social-media posts was real and organised,.. It could have been deadly for citizens, protesters and officers.”
VICE World News reports that two of the men are linked to an online far-right group.
CAHN journalist Peter Smith told VICE “The community is extremely conspiratorial, regurgitating and spreading… a variety of new and well-worn fantasies about globalist plots, COVID and vaccine misinformation, and Jewish-controlled media and government.”
“There has been a consistent violent tone to many of the streams, and the phrase ‘gun or rope’—referencing a solution to dealing with traitors—has become a motto of sorts within the community,” Smith said.
Evidence of two of the men’s connection to the group can be found online.
On Tuesday, the RCMP said the Coutts border crossing had reopened and traffic was flowing.
Efforts to restore peace to other Canadian cities where demonstrations are still taking place continue.
