Evan Colenutt, one of the Coutts, AB blockade protesters, has seen his prosecution case come to a conclusion.According to CBC, Colenutt, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to a firearms offence, has been handed a two-year conditional sentence (CSO), meaning his time will be served at home and in the community.He was part of the January-February 2022 Coutts border dispute, where protesters blockaded the border crossing between Alberta and Montana, demanding the government lift all pandemic-related restrictions and vaccine mandates.In mid-February of that year, the RCMP executed search warrants and seized a number of firearms, ammunition, and tactical equipment from numerous buildings, including a house Colenutt—who had traveled down from Calgary for the protest—was staying in at the time.Police charged at least 15 people with various border protest-related offences..Chris Carbert of ‘Coutts 4’ granted bail, to see daylight for first time in three years.Colenutt was later charged with mischief over $5,000 and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.Later in March, he admitted to owning two of the semi-automatic firearms confiscated as well as ammunition, body armour, and a tactical vest, resulting in the mischief charge being dropped.CBC said his defence attorney, Mark Browne, had asked presiding Justice F.C. Fisher to consider an 18-month CSO, a much more lenient sentence compared to the two-year jail term proposed by prosecutors Steven Johnston and Aaron Rankin.Colenutt will now serve 16 months via house arrest, with the final eight months being on a curfew.
