Canada trucker protest organizers found guilty of mischief

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Two of the organizers of Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 have been found guilty of mischief for their roles in the mass protest in Ottawa, a judge ruled Thursday.

Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were key figures and organizers in the massive protest that saw hundreds of vehicles and thousands of people occupy downtown Ottawa and insist they would stay until COVID-19 public health mandates were eliminated.

The February 2022 protests, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, were sparked by a Canadian government vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the U.S.-Canada border.

Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of protesters clogged the streets of the capital, Ottawa, and besieged Parliament Hill for three weeks in early 2022, demonstrating against vaccine mandates for truckers and other precautions and condemning then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

In finding the two guilty of mischief, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said the evidence shows that the two routinely encouraged people to join or remain at the protest, despite knowing the adverse effect it was having on downtown residents and businesses.

The defense argued that Lich and Barber called for a peaceful protest and blamed any disorder on police and city officials.

Perkins-McVey found Lich and Barber not guilty of intimidation, counselling someone to commit intimidation, obstructing police and counselling someone to obstruct police.

Barber also was found guilty of counselling to disobey a court order for telling people to ignore an injunction issued by a judge directing convoy participants to stop honking their truck horns in downtown Ottawa.

The truckers’ convoy gridlocked downtown streets around Parliament Hill, with area residents complaining about the fumes from diesel engines running non-stop, and unrelenting noise from constant honking of horns and music from parties.

Truckers also blockaded U.S.-Canada border crossings in protest.

Trudeau’s government ultimately invoked the Emergencies Act to try and bring an end to the protests. Ottawa Police brought in hundreds of officers from forces across Canada.

The Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted economic trade.

For almost a week the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit was blocked. It carries more than 25% of trade between the countries, who are each other’s largest trading partners.

FILE - Police stand in an area as they take action to put an end to a protest in Ottawa, Feb. 19, 2022. (Justin Tang /The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Tamara Lich smiles towards supporters as she leaves the courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario, after the verdict was delivered in her trial with fellow Freedom Convoy organizer, Chris Barber, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tamara Lich leaves the courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario, after the verdict was delivered in her trial with fellow Freedom Convoy organizer, Chris Barber, on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

FILE - Police hang off a truck as authorities work to end a protest against COVID-19 measures in Ottawa, Feb. 19, 2022. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP, FIle)

A supporter greets Chris Barber as he leaves the courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario, after the verdict was delivered in his trial with fellow Freedom Convoy organizer, Tamara Lich, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Chris Barber, center, leaves the courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario, with his lawyer Diane Magas, left, after the verdict was delivered in his trial with fellow Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich, not pictured, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tamara Lich leaves the courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario, after the verdict was delivered in her trial with fellow Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tamara Lich leaves the courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario, after the verdict was delivered in her trial with fellow Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 9, 2026--

Crisp, the leading vertical AI platform for retail, announced the opening of a new showcase office in downtown Minneapolis, underscoring the company’s deep commitment to the Twin Cities’ CPG brands and retailers. The new office, located at the US Bancorp Center, was selected for its central location and offers an open meeting place for partners to utilize while they are in Minneapolis on business.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260409373296/en/

From its first two employees in 2019, Crisp’s team in Minneapolis has steadily grown through organic growth and the integration of local teams from the acquisitions of SetSight and Lumidata in 2024. The expansion reflects Crisp’s strategic focus on supporting collaboration with leading retailers and CPG brands that sell through Target, Best Buy, and other retail chains.

“Our new office in Minneapolis is designed as an open and modern space for brands and retailers to collaborate in person,” said Crisp CEO and Founder Are Traasdahl. “At its core, retail is a relationship business. As brands and retailers look to leverage AI to drive action and automation, Crisp provides the technology and the support needed to solve practical problems, improve shared outcomes, and make data actionable for our partners.”

Improved access to real-time data and insights is fueling rapid growth across Crisp’s customers with Minneapolis-based retailers. Made by Gather realized 1,450% growth at Target by leveraging Crisp’s reliable data foundation, while J.M. Smucker Co. reported 65% year‑over‑year growth in the seasonal petfood category by using Crisp’s customizable reporting across 5,000 Target‑specific metrics. PopSockets boosted in‑stock performance at Target to 96% while optimizing assortments across thousands of SKUs.

“Our relationship with Target is strong because with Crisp, we not only save hours managing our data, but can be faster and more nimble using real-time data,” said Kyle Chu, PopSockets’ Business Intelligence and Financial Analyst Manager.

For more information, please visitwww.gocrisp.com.

About Crisp

Over $15T in goods flow through global supply chains annually. But the data required to optimize movement of goods is disconnected and siloed. As the leading vertical AI platform for retail data, Crisp leverages AI to facilitate the integration, access, and exchange of retail data between CPG brands, retailers, and distributors, providing unprecedented visibility and automation to optimize retail sales and the supply chain infrastructure. Trusted by 7,000+ brands, Crisp transforms a brand’s own retail data into a competitive advantage. Learn more at gocrisp.com.

Crisp's new showcase office in Minneapolis