Keith Wilson, who represents convoy organizers – including Tamara Lich and Chris Barber – is testifying on Wednesday before the Public Order Emergency Committee, which is considering the federal government’s decision to invoke emergency powers to clear the crowds and vehicles that blocked the capital for more than three weeks. “There were several times when information came into the operations center from various police sources that a raid was imminent,” he said under oath on Wednesday. “And it happened many times.” Before his testimony, Wilson sat down with the commission’s attorneys for an interview. A summary of that interview was presented as an exhibit Wednesday. “Wilson does not know the sources, but Freedom Convoy was receiving leaked information from law enforcement,” it says. “Eventually, the police caught up and appeared to launch ‘fake operations’ to throw out the Freedom Parade participants and test where the leaks were coming from.” WATCHES | Lawyer says protest organizers were getting leaked police information
Convoy Lawyer says protest organizers were getting leaked police information
Keith Wilson, lawyer for Tamara Lich protest organizers Chris Barber, says “police sources” from the Public Order Emergency Committee gave the convoy advance notice of raids Wilson’s statement did not say which police agency he believes leaked information. The Ottawa Police Service said it is investigating a small number of officers who may have supported the Freedom Escort from the early days of the illegal occupation in the city’s core. To date, only one Ottawa police officer has faced any formal prosecution for participating in the escort or possession — and that too for donating money. Last week, Ottawa Police Services Minister. Robert Drummond told the inquiry there were concerns within the agency about leaks, but he did not know the status of the investigation. “There was one member I knew and we shut down his access to his corporate accounts,” he said. “As a precaution, we’ve shut down. He wasn’t working at the moment – he was on leave.” According to documents previously released to the CBC through an access to information request, the RCMP feared the Mounties could join protests against the pandemic restrictions. “There is potential for serious insider threats,” says a Feb. 10 advisory from the RCMP’s ideologically motivated criminal intelligence team. Freedom Convoy organizer Tom Marazzo, right, and lawyer Keith Wilson speak to people in the gallery before the start of the day’s Public Order Emergency Committee hearings, where they will appear as witnesses, in Ottawa on Wednesday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) “Those who have not lost their jobs but are sympathetic to the movement and their former colleagues may be able to share law enforcement or military information at the convoy demonstrations.” The RCMP later said it had not identified any “active insider threat within the RCMP that could have had a negative impact on the agency’s ability to carry out its mandate with respect to the Freedom Convoy.”
Tom Marazzo, Pat King also testifying today
Wilson told the committee that former law enforcement officers, former military personnel and former CSIS personnel were involved in the logistics of the protests and had access to radios, maps and aerial photographs. “Many of these ex-servicemen were connected and brought information,” the interview summary said. Wilson said they coordinate fuel distribution and trash removal, stage management and deal with troubled protesters. Later Wednesday, the commission will hear from one of those coordinators: Tom Marazzo, one of Wilson’s clients and a former military man who joined the convoy once it arrived in Ottawa to help with logistics. High-profile organizer Pat King is expected to testify later this afternoon. On Tuesday, the inquiry heard other participants had concerns about King’s involvement after he posted a video suggesting violence against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. King faces charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, mischief and intimidation for his role in the protest and was released on bail in July. Wilson told the committee Wednesday that many groups attached themselves to the self-described Freedom Parade — including those who supported the movement, those who wanted to take it over and those who wanted a piece of the millions of dollars raised by organizers. He said some strange groups – including a witches’ coven – were drawn to the movement “like moths to a flame”.
