Tamara Lich, charged with mischief for her role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy, says a verdict from her long, expensive, ongoing trial is still far off.Lich went on trial in September, 2023, which was originally supposed to conclude after six weeks. It remains ongoing, adjourned until the middle of August.In a 34-minute interview with former MP Derek Sloan on his Funding the Fight channel on Rumble, Lich said, "We'll be lucky to see a conclusion by early 2025," given the judge may take six months to render a verdict after the trial concludes.Lich noted how in mid-November, Ontario courts had thrown out 125 cases due to too much time having lapsed, including sexual assaults."Rather than prosecute violent sex offenders, they tossed those cases so that they could prosecute me and Chris (Barber). Well, I call it persecute, because that's kind of what it looks and feels like."Lich said she was imprisoned 18 days after the convoy ended and another 30 in the summer of 2022 for an alleged breach of her bail conditions. The crown prosecutor wants a ten-year sentence for Lich and Barber, which "really baffles" Lich."Neither one of us have a criminal record. Neither one of us have any type of violent history that involve firearms or weapons or a mischief charge. And even like sitting in the court, courtroom, I still haven't seen any evidence that I've committed a crime. And same with Chris," she said."It's bewildering. It's a bit of a head-scratcher."Sloan asked Lich what her legal defence strategy was, but she said the court had not seen "one shred of evidence" she committed a crime."Everything that I saw was exactly what I was doing. And I was always out there advocating for peaceful protest, advocating to respect the law, advocating to respect our law enforcement personnel, because we recognized right away that it only takes one negative action that could have destroyed the whole thing."Lich said the direction of the Supreme Court of Canada in recent times was "very troubling and worrisome" as was the "non-action" by police against protests that started before Christmas, an apparent reference to anti-Israeli protesters. Meanwhile, riot police were brought in to take away fishermen protesting on Budget Day in Newfoundland."It seems like if you are protesting something that the government believes in, or is aligned with, then there's nothing. But as soon as you start questioning or protesting against the government and their their policies, then they send in the heavy horses," she said."That's very worrisome. And we're supposed to be a democratic society where we get to go and voice our concerns. It doesn't mean we're bad people. It doesn't mean the government should be afraid of us, because that's really what it's starting to look like."Lich also said Ottawa treated the convoy the wrong way from the start and the War Measures (Emergencies) Act inquiry only gave more proof."Every choice they made was the wrong choice, right from coming out and calling us racists right at the onset," she said."We found out at the inquiry, it was all a setup. They had the whole narrative and everything set up before I even met Chris Barber in person."She said she was among many everyday Canadians who were sick of a one-sided narrative presented by authorities and parroted by the media for two years."I'm not a scary person, I'm five feet tall. I'm a 51-year-old grandmother that just wanted to go and say, 'Hey, there's another side of the story here that you guys are ignoring, blatantly ignoring,'" she explained."We were just blue-collar middle-class Canadians that had a concern. And in a democratic society. You're right, it should be well within our rights to go to Parliament Hill and have our voices heard. And instead, they chose to call us names, make up lies about us."Lich said if the court rules against her, she will "immediately" appeal.In an email blast, Sloan said he found it "pretty bizarre" that she was still banned from saying certain things on social media. He called her trial "crucial" for "establishing the principles of freedom in this country, the principles behind lawful protest.""Tamara's trial has cost about half-a-million dollars so far and will rack up an additional several hundred thousand dollars," Sloan wrote."Thus far, she's had a good chunk of her bills covered, but right now she's about $100,000 short, and needs your help to cover the difference."Donations via Sloan can be e-transfered to fundingthefight@proton.me using the password "Freedom", with "Tamara" in the memo line.
Tamara Lich, charged with mischief for her role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy, says a verdict from her long, expensive, ongoing trial is still far off.Lich went on trial in September, 2023, which was originally supposed to conclude after six weeks. It remains ongoing, adjourned until the middle of August.In a 34-minute interview with former MP Derek Sloan on his Funding the Fight channel on Rumble, Lich said, "We'll be lucky to see a conclusion by early 2025," given the judge may take six months to render a verdict after the trial concludes.Lich noted how in mid-November, Ontario courts had thrown out 125 cases due to too much time having lapsed, including sexual assaults."Rather than prosecute violent sex offenders, they tossed those cases so that they could prosecute me and Chris (Barber). Well, I call it persecute, because that's kind of what it looks and feels like."Lich said she was imprisoned 18 days after the convoy ended and another 30 in the summer of 2022 for an alleged breach of her bail conditions. The crown prosecutor wants a ten-year sentence for Lich and Barber, which "really baffles" Lich."Neither one of us have a criminal record. Neither one of us have any type of violent history that involve firearms or weapons or a mischief charge. And even like sitting in the court, courtroom, I still haven't seen any evidence that I've committed a crime. And same with Chris," she said."It's bewildering. It's a bit of a head-scratcher."Sloan asked Lich what her legal defence strategy was, but she said the court had not seen "one shred of evidence" she committed a crime."Everything that I saw was exactly what I was doing. And I was always out there advocating for peaceful protest, advocating to respect the law, advocating to respect our law enforcement personnel, because we recognized right away that it only takes one negative action that could have destroyed the whole thing."Lich said the direction of the Supreme Court of Canada in recent times was "very troubling and worrisome" as was the "non-action" by police against protests that started before Christmas, an apparent reference to anti-Israeli protesters. Meanwhile, riot police were brought in to take away fishermen protesting on Budget Day in Newfoundland."It seems like if you are protesting something that the government believes in, or is aligned with, then there's nothing. But as soon as you start questioning or protesting against the government and their their policies, then they send in the heavy horses," she said."That's very worrisome. And we're supposed to be a democratic society where we get to go and voice our concerns. It doesn't mean we're bad people. It doesn't mean the government should be afraid of us, because that's really what it's starting to look like."Lich also said Ottawa treated the convoy the wrong way from the start and the War Measures (Emergencies) Act inquiry only gave more proof."Every choice they made was the wrong choice, right from coming out and calling us racists right at the onset," she said."We found out at the inquiry, it was all a setup. They had the whole narrative and everything set up before I even met Chris Barber in person."She said she was among many everyday Canadians who were sick of a one-sided narrative presented by authorities and parroted by the media for two years."I'm not a scary person, I'm five feet tall. I'm a 51-year-old grandmother that just wanted to go and say, 'Hey, there's another side of the story here that you guys are ignoring, blatantly ignoring,'" she explained."We were just blue-collar middle-class Canadians that had a concern. And in a democratic society. You're right, it should be well within our rights to go to Parliament Hill and have our voices heard. And instead, they chose to call us names, make up lies about us."Lich said if the court rules against her, she will "immediately" appeal.In an email blast, Sloan said he found it "pretty bizarre" that she was still banned from saying certain things on social media. He called her trial "crucial" for "establishing the principles of freedom in this country, the principles behind lawful protest.""Tamara's trial has cost about half-a-million dollars so far and will rack up an additional several hundred thousand dollars," Sloan wrote."Thus far, she's had a good chunk of her bills covered, but right now she's about $100,000 short, and needs your help to cover the difference."Donations via Sloan can be e-transfered to fundingthefight@proton.me using the password "Freedom", with "Tamara" in the memo line.
