Canada trucker protests organiser gets three-months house arrest

A key organiser behind the "Freedom Convoy" trucker protests that gridlocked Canada's capital for weeks in 2022, has been sentenced to three months of house arrest.

Pat King, 47, was convicted in November on five of nine criminal charges: mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to obstruct a public or peace officer, and two counts of disobeying a court order.

In his Wednesday sentencing, an Ontario Superior Court judge gave King nine months credit for time already spent behind bars. Prosecutors had asked for a 10-year sentence.

King was part of a group that led a convoy of trucks to Ottawa during the pandemic to protest against Covid-19 measures.

Speaking outside the courthouse on Wednesday, King's lawyer Natasha Calvinho called the sentencing decision "balanced".

"This is an end to a very long and very drawn out process," she said.

As part of the conditional sentence, King will also have a period of probation after his release from house arrest, which he will serve in his home province of Alberta.

The trucker protests received international attention in 2022 and inspired similar copycat demonstrations abroad.

King is the first organiser of the Freedom Convoy to be convicted and sentenced.

Two other organisers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, will learn the outcome of their trial next month.

King's lawyers argued during his trial that he was part of a peaceful demonstration against public health restrictions and government mandates, and that police were to blame for rising tensions during the protest.

Crown prosecutors argued that he was a key figure behind the protests, which they say had disrupted and harmed the residents and workers of downtown Ottawa for weeks.

The February 2022 protests were initially sparked by a federal vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the US-Canada border.

Convoys of some 400 heavy trucks and other vehicles descended on Ottawa and blockaded city streets around parliament for three weeks.

They were stopped after Prime Minister Trudeau enacted the never-before-used Emergencies Act, which allowed police to clear the streets and freeze the bank accounts of protesters.

King was arrested shortly after on 18 February and was released on bail five months later.

He was ordered back behind bars briefly after he breached court-imposed rules on his social media use.