OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) –– Day 18 of the trial for Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber on Tuesday saw Crown civilian witness and Ottawa resident Paul Jorgenson testify that he felt “threatened” by the protests despite not being harmed.
Jorgenson’s testimony on Monday and Tuesday centered around his negative feelings about the protests and came despite a warning from Justice Heather Perkins-McVey last week that witnesses should give testimony based on observational facts rather than on personal feelings regarding the demonstrations.
During testimony last Thursday and Friday, Perkins-McVey was swift to take issue with the Crown witnesses’ testimony which was rife with personal feelings, instead of facts.
Nevertheless, Jorgenson complained to the court that the noise and smell from idling trucks made it so that he could not work from his home office in downtown Ottawa. He also claimed his entrance to his garage was blocked so he could not drive his car, and that he could not get food. As a result, he decided to leave the city for over a week.
Jorgenson also claimed that he felt he was “threatened” when he was questioned by a group of people from the Freedom Convoy who allegedly asked him why he was wearing a mask outdoors.
He also admitted that he was compelled to assist Freedom Convoy counter-protestors in blocking the roads as well so that truckers could not get access to certain areas.
“I never reached [the same] level of desperation as I did that weekend,” said Jorgenson about the Freedom Convoy.
When pressed by Lich and Barber’s lawyers about how many trucks were parked in front of this home, he said the street was full of pickup trucks along with smaller cars, and that he could not get around them.
When asked about why he could not walk to a further away grocery store to get food, he said it was too cold for him to walk and he felt threatened by protestors.
On Monday in court, Justice Heather Perkins-McVey warned Crown witness Zexi Li she must stop using the term “occupation” as a descriptor for the protest.
The trial of Lich and Barber resumed last Wednesday after a hiatus of nearly three weeks, seeing the judge agreeing to allow the government to call eight more witnesses despite strong objections by the defense.
Lich and Barber are facing multiple charges from the 2022 protests, including mischief, counseling mischief, counseling intimidation and obstructing police for taking part in and organizing the anti-mandate Freedom Convoy. As reported by LifeSiteNews at the time, despite the non-violent nature of the protest and the charges, Lich was jailed for weeks before she was granted bail.
The Democracy Fund, which is crowdfunding Lich’s legal costs, has produced extensive reports detailing the day-to-day proceedings of the trial which can be viewed here.