An Ontario judge has acquitted Niagara trucker Harold Jonker on every count linked to his role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy, ruling the Crown failed to prove he committed mischief or encouraged others to break the law.Justice Kevin B. Phillips of the Ontario Superior Court released his decision today, ending a two year legal fight that began 15 months after the massive protest rolled out of downtown Ottawa. Jonker, owner of West Lincoln-based Jonker Trucking Inc., was charged in May 2023 with mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, and counselling intimidation.Jonker joined the convoy as “road captain” for a group from Niagara Region and reached the capital on January 28, 2022. Jonker stayed three weeks but parked his rig on Coventry Road, well east of Parliament Hill, and received no ticket or warning while in the city..At trial last week, the Crown argued Jonker’s media interviews urged truckers to clog the core and that several Jonker Trucking vehicles were spotted near Parliament. Prosecutors called two police officers and two civilian witnesses to support the claim.Justice Phillips rejected both lines of attack. Justice Phillips said interviewers treated Jonker like a “foreign correspondent” describing events rather than whipping up illegal action. Expressing support for a protest, the judge noted, is not the same as counselling crime..On the trucks, the court found no evidence that Jonker controlled every vehicle bearing his company’s name. Video introduced by the Crown showed him saying his own truck was parked in a yard outside the core. The prosecution offered nothing on the firm’s corporate structure to prove that he could order other drivers downtown.Constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury welcomed the decision, stating, “Harold and I are elated with the outcome of his case,” said Fleury.“We agree with the trial judge that the Crown had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.” .A relieved Jonker thanked his legal team.“We are very thankful for the excellent legal support provided by the Justice Centre, and thankful that the judge saw through the Crown’s weak case and had the courage to do the right thing,” said Jonker.The Crown has not indicated whether it will appeal.
