From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The Freedom Convoy leader reflected on how the mandates ripped families apart after ‘people were forced to take a ‘med’ to keep their jobs, homes, family, and social circles.’

Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich reflected at the end of her months-long court trial on how she was “targeted” by the federal government because she and others stood up for Canadians’ freedoms in protest of COVID shots that she said “people were forced to take” to keep their jobs.

In a X post last Friday, Lich observed that COVID mandates and rules tore families “apart,” adding that the rules led to “kids on outdoor rinks (were threatened with tasers). Playgrounds were taped off with caution tape. Kids were ostracized in school and sports.”

“People were forced to take a ‘med’ to keep their jobs, homes, family, and social circles. They arrested pastors!” she wrote.

Lich said she was not happy with the Freedom Convoy being referred to as a “weekend party” by the Crown’s legal team.

The trial for Lich and Freedom Convoy leader Chris Barber, which was supposed to have been only 16 days, concluded last Friday after more than a year, with the presiding judge observing that determining a verdict, which could take up to six months, will be “daunting” task.

The trial had been ongoing for more than one year after beginning on September 3, 2023. As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich and Barber face a possible 10-year prison sentence for their role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy.

Lich and Barber face multiple charges from the 2022 protests, including mischief, counseling mischief, counseling intimidation, and obstructing police. In Canada, anyone charged with mischief faces a potential jail sentence of up to 10 years.

Lich, in another X post last Friday, said that when it came to the those who stood up to COVID mandates, they indeed were the “target” of the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“We were the targeted and traumatized by our own government and, shockingly, our own military who saw the pandemic as an excellent way to test out psychological operations on Canadians,” she wrote.

“It’s difficult to reflect back on the many tactics used to demoralize, deflate, and divide us, the lengths to which they went to enforce mandates and an untested and experimental therapy, which have all been proven utterly useless. However, the implications and consequences of these will have repercussions on humanity for generations to come because it was inhumane.”

Despite her plight, Lich took the time to thank her supporters for standing with her during her trial.

“As the trial portion of our criminal trial comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on how lucky and grateful I am for the love and support I’ve received from Canadians and from around the world,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

In concluding statements last Friday in an Ottawa courthouse, presiding judge Heather Perkins-McVey said that she does “not know” when she will “be in a position to give my decision,” adding that producing a verdict will be “a little daunting.”

The judge has promised that on November 26 she will provide an update on to expect a decision.

The Crown prosecution has held steadfast to the notion that Lich and Barber somehow influenced the protesters’ actions through their words as part of a co-conspiracy. This claim has been rejected by the defense as weak.

It has also been asserted “that the absence of violence or peaceful nature of the protest didn’t make it lawful, emphasizing that the onus was on the Crown to prove the protest’s unlawfulness.”

The reality is that Lich and Barber collaborated with police on many occasions so that the protesters remained law abiding.

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The Democracy Fund (TDF) announced that it would represent members of the Amish community in Grey County, Ontario, to fight fines incurred for failing to follow COVID regulations, including using the once-mandated, scandal-ridden ArriveCAN app.

A pro-freedom legal group is defending an Amish community against COVID fines for allegedly breaking travel regulations. 

In a September 18 press release, The Democracy Fund (TDF) announced that it would represent members of the Amish community in Grey County, Ontario, to fight fines incurred for failing to follow COVID regulations, including using the once-mandated, scandal-ridden ArriveCAN app.  

“These are people who, due to their faith, do not use modern technology,” TDF senior litigation counsel Adam Blake-Gallipeau declared. “They travel by horse and buggy and are unfamiliar with operating a telephone, let alone an app on a present-day cell phone.” 

TDF is defending seventy-four community members who were fined nearly $300,000 for failing to complete the ArriveCAN app, among other violations. During the COVID “pandemic,” the Trudeau government mandated that everyone leaving or entering Canada use the ArriveCAN app, which monitored and collected information from Canadians. 

Since Amish communities do not use modern technology, they likewise did not use the ArriveCAN app. Additionally, TDF noted that many of the individuals were not properly notified about the tickets or trial dates and therefore did not attend their trials.   

As a result, judges made convictions in their absence. The rulings included placing liens on their properties, “posing a severe threat to their community and livelihoods should the government force the sale of their lands.”  

Amish communities survive almost solely off their land, through farming, gardening, and harvesting wood. The loss of their land would mean losing both their home and livelihood. 

Therefore, TDF plans to file applications to reopen these convictions and hopefully to challenge the fines in court.  

“We anticipate that this legal process may be lengthy, but with your support, TDF is committed to addressing and correcting this pandemic-related injustice,” TDF declared.   

TDF’s announcement comes after the legal group offered free legal help for anyone with outstanding COVID-related fines.  

Over the last couple of years, TDF has been active in helping Canadians persecuted under COVID mandates and rules fight back. Notable people it has helped include Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill, an Ontario pediatrician who has been embroiled in a legal battle with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) for her anti-COVID views. She has also had the help of Elon Musk. 

It is worth noting that while the Amish may be using their religious beliefs as a defense against their refusal to use the ArriveCAN app, other legal experts have objected to the once-mandatory application on the grounds that it infringed on Canadians’ mobility rights and other rights to privacy.