Convoy participant Pat King was involved in the planning and logistics of the Freedom Convoy protest, despite denials of his participation by organizers, according to court documents obtained by CTV News.
Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber and King were in constant contact, routinely texting and calling each other, according to information police seized from Barber’s phone.
Those messages show Barber initially reached out to King on Jan. 14, two weeks before the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa, where he offered to add King as an administrator on the "Take back our Freedoms Convoy 2022" Facebook page.
According to the documents, organizer Tamara Lich called a meeting with Barber and King on Jan. 18, and asked King directly for his network of contacts involved in the protest.
“Can you get me a meeting set up with the road captains?” Lich asked on Jan. 18. “Can you give me an idea of how many drivers each captain is overseeing?”
King was also included on a number of group texts with convoy organizers, outlining strategy and logistics. King’s involvement varied from spreading information about the protest on his podcast, giving updates on Facebook and providing food on the road during the convoy’s trek across Canada.
As the convoy protest gained more attention, questions related to King’s past comments online began to surface. Barber received several messages from protest supporters, highlighting their concerns.
“Hey Chris, still following you guys, but Twitter is going crazy over Pat King saying things that made him sound violent,” one supporter messaged Barber, via TikTok on Jan. 25.
A day later, Lich also echoed concerns about King.
“If he doesn’t stop now and right now he needs to go home Chris. Honestly I hate to do it. I believe a part of his heart is in this for the right reasons but he will bring down this whole thing.”
In one video sent to Barber, King is heard saying, “the only way that this is going to be solved is with bullets."
King has also expressed support for “White Replacement Theory,” a conspiracy theory that promotes fears that Caucasians are being replaced through several means.
As the convoy protest progressed in Ottawa, Barber began to express his own concerns over its association with King and the need to distance the movement from him.
“Pat King needs to go home,” Barber wrote in a message on Feb. 2 to local Alberta convoy organizer Glen Carritt.
On the morning of Feb. 10, King and other supporters slow rolled vehicles around the Ottawa International Airport, limiting access. Barber texted King telling him the airport was “too clogged, we want a presence but not shut down.” King responded by saying the slow roll was completed but wondered why Barber was messaging him since “I have nothing to do with you guys I thought.”
There are several missed calls from King to Barber during the last week of the protest in Ottawa. However, the two men remained in contact until Barber was arrested on Feb. 17.
Barber is currently on bail in Saskatchewan. He is charged with counselling mischief, intimidation, counselling intimidation, counselling obstruction of police, and obstructing police.
Following his arrest on Feb. 18, King remains behind bars in Ottawa and faces charges for mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order, and counselling to obstruct police
Lich is back in an Ottawa jail, after the Crown alleged she broke her bail conditions by communicating with convoy spokesperson Tom Marazzo at an event in Toronto. She faces a new charge of breach of recognizance, as well as previous charges of mischief, counselling mischief, obstructing police, counselling to obstruct police, counselling intimidation, and intimidation by blocking and obstructing one or more highways in relation to the protest.
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