A member of the Coutts Four says “a higher evil power” is to blame for treatment against them that has not only denied them bail but kept them in remand for 683 days.Anthony Olenick made his comments in a half-hour interview with Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson in an episode entitled, “So, This Was Christmas.” Olenick said he was encouraged last December and more recently by a “tranche” of letters that arrived to encourage him.“It was the best Christmas present I could ask for just to have everyone share their support and love and stories and inspiration. It inspires me. And it inspires them. And so we just feed off each other's love… It's truly wonderful,” Olenick said by phone from remand in Medicine Hat.“I'm so grateful for so many wonderful patriots and God-loving people out there that have given me the courage and strength to weather the storm. And so I've made the best of my time being here incarcerated, and I've (blessed) others with my testimony too, to see the light and come to the Lord, and be true to their hearts.”Olenick and three other face a litany of serious charges, including conspiring to murder RCMP officers during the Coutts Blocakde in support of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.The prisoner says the actions against he and fellow protesters were a “giant ploy” spurred by “biased opinions.” “I'm standing with 500 people, wonderful protesters, who were standing there watching children play street hockey. We had a Christian band playing gospel music, we had family orientated events happening. And as…it happened in Ottawa, you’ve got heavily armed police,” he recalled.“We're just being peaceful and loving and trying to just get our message across. All we want to do is just have somebody come and say hello to us and talk to us, listen to our concerns.”The prisoner said he has spent $600,000 on lawyers, most on the one who recently resigned on him. He says the Four have gone through 12 lawyers in all. “And when I sit here in custody and talk to other inmates who hear my story, it just blows their mind. And, ‘I can't believe how much money you've spent, that you're still in jail’... They know guys that had way, way worse charges, and first degree murder charges… and they fought their cases and for way less,” Olenick said.“It's totally political, obviously... agenda-driven for them to invoke the Emergency Act… They had to do say something big was happening, and to justify their actions, which I think is going to obviously backfire again on them.”The prisoner said he has no internet actions and the Bible is the only non-fiction book that prisoners have access to. “We just get mainstream media, which, we all know, is not telling the truth either.” “These remands are a place designed to break a human mind and spirit and then to take a deal or make a plea deal to then sentence you into a federal prison,” Olenick said. Olenick said in most circumstances, people like him would have been granted bail. He said one donor even offered to put up a million dollars for it, but the system refused.“I had a business trucking company and excavating company to go and operate with full time employees. And normally…they want to see people being productive in their community…I had all of that times ten, and no criminal record, no violent history, no history whatsoever. And completely just denied,” he said.Olenick will appear in court with his fellow accused on January 8. He concluded with a word of hope for him and his allies.“True justice needs to happen, and true change needs to happen. And we can only do that together as one,” he said.
A member of the Coutts Four says “a higher evil power” is to blame for treatment against them that has not only denied them bail but kept them in remand for 683 days.Anthony Olenick made his comments in a half-hour interview with Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson in an episode entitled, “So, This Was Christmas.” Olenick said he was encouraged last December and more recently by a “tranche” of letters that arrived to encourage him.“It was the best Christmas present I could ask for just to have everyone share their support and love and stories and inspiration. It inspires me. And it inspires them. And so we just feed off each other's love… It's truly wonderful,” Olenick said by phone from remand in Medicine Hat.“I'm so grateful for so many wonderful patriots and God-loving people out there that have given me the courage and strength to weather the storm. And so I've made the best of my time being here incarcerated, and I've (blessed) others with my testimony too, to see the light and come to the Lord, and be true to their hearts.”Olenick and three other face a litany of serious charges, including conspiring to murder RCMP officers during the Coutts Blocakde in support of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.The prisoner says the actions against he and fellow protesters were a “giant ploy” spurred by “biased opinions.” “I'm standing with 500 people, wonderful protesters, who were standing there watching children play street hockey. We had a Christian band playing gospel music, we had family orientated events happening. And as…it happened in Ottawa, you’ve got heavily armed police,” he recalled.“We're just being peaceful and loving and trying to just get our message across. All we want to do is just have somebody come and say hello to us and talk to us, listen to our concerns.”The prisoner said he has spent $600,000 on lawyers, most on the one who recently resigned on him. He says the Four have gone through 12 lawyers in all. “And when I sit here in custody and talk to other inmates who hear my story, it just blows their mind. And, ‘I can't believe how much money you've spent, that you're still in jail’... They know guys that had way, way worse charges, and first degree murder charges… and they fought their cases and for way less,” Olenick said.“It's totally political, obviously... agenda-driven for them to invoke the Emergency Act… They had to do say something big was happening, and to justify their actions, which I think is going to obviously backfire again on them.”The prisoner said he has no internet actions and the Bible is the only non-fiction book that prisoners have access to. “We just get mainstream media, which, we all know, is not telling the truth either.” “These remands are a place designed to break a human mind and spirit and then to take a deal or make a plea deal to then sentence you into a federal prison,” Olenick said. Olenick said in most circumstances, people like him would have been granted bail. He said one donor even offered to put up a million dollars for it, but the system refused.“I had a business trucking company and excavating company to go and operate with full time employees. And normally…they want to see people being productive in their community…I had all of that times ten, and no criminal record, no violent history, no history whatsoever. And completely just denied,” he said.Olenick will appear in court with his fellow accused on January 8. He concluded with a word of hope for him and his allies.“True justice needs to happen, and true change needs to happen. And we can only do that together as one,” he said.
