(Jake Zacharias/LethbridgeNewsNow)

By Canadian Press

Jurors in Coutts blockade public mischief trial will hear final arguments next week

Apr 12, 2024 | 12:01 PM

The Crown and defence lawyers have wrapped up their cases in the trial of three men accused of orchestrating the border shutdown at Coutts, Alta., in early 2022.

The Crown announced it will not call any further evidence, and the defence told court it won’t call any evidence at all.

The trial before a jury is now scheduled to move to closing arguments on Tuesday.

Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos, and Gerhard Janzen have pleaded not guilty to a charge of mischief over $5,000.

The Crown has presented evidence it says proves the trio spearheaded the protest that tied up cross-border traffic between Alberta and Montana for two weeks in early 2022 in a protest of COVID-era rules and restrictions.

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The defence has argued that the protest group was a mishmash of competing interests to the point it wasn’t clear who was calling the shots.