ALBERTA
'Hill he's prepared to die on': Second undercover officer at Coutts conspiracy trial
The Canadian Press
Fri, June 14, 2024
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — A second RCMP officer who went undercover as a supporter at the 2022 blockade in Coutts, Alta., has testified that one of two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder said all police officers at the blockade "should be hung."
Known only as HQ1516 to protect her identity, she is the second undercover officer to testify at the trial of Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert.
She told the court she has been doing this kind of work since 2015 and has been involved in more than 100 operations.
The officer and her partner met Olienick at Smuggler's Saloon in Coutts on Feb. 9, 2022, bringing perogies in a show of support for the blockade.
She said Olienick was friendly but also angry that some of his friends were being "intimidated" by the RCMP and not being allowed in through another checkpoint.
"He didn't like any cops even though they tried to talk nice. He didn't care that they were doing their job. They should all be hung," she said.
"To me it was like disdain for the police or disgust for the police, which was a little bit shocking obviously being a police officer standing right in front of him."
Olienick and Carbert are on trial in Court of King’s Bench on charges related to the blockade, which snarled traffic at the Canada-U.S. border at Coutts for two weeks to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
The officer said she and her partner were given scenarios each day to try to find out information as part of the investigation. She said that included determining the leadership, the possible location of weapons and a floor plan of the saloon.
Olienick started talking about a "Plan B" that he would put in place if police attempted to move in on the protesters, she said.
"That he had firearms stockpiled and thousands of rounds of ammo and could have everybody in there equipped," she said.
The operative said Olienick was also fearful that police would move in when protester numbers were down in the middle of week or in the middle of the night.
"Members were going to come in between 3 and 5 in the morning when everybody was sleeping and they didn't have comms to get everyone out to fight," she said.
"He did talk about having a satellite phone and having lots of military support outside that would rush in and smash through police vehicles and he said this is a hill he's prepared to die on and lots of them were."
The five-man, nine-woman jury is to hear more testimony on Friday.
Olienick and Carbert were arrested after Mounties found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers in the area.
The two are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2024.
-- by Bill Graveland in Calgary
The Canadian Press
Fri, June 14, 2024
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — A second RCMP officer who went undercover as a supporter at the 2022 blockade in Coutts, Alta., has testified that one of two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder said all police officers at the blockade "should be hung."
Known only as HQ1516 to protect her identity, she is the second undercover officer to testify at the trial of Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert.
She told the court she has been doing this kind of work since 2015 and has been involved in more than 100 operations.
The officer and her partner met Olienick at Smuggler's Saloon in Coutts on Feb. 9, 2022, bringing perogies in a show of support for the blockade.
She said Olienick was friendly but also angry that some of his friends were being "intimidated" by the RCMP and not being allowed in through another checkpoint.
"He didn't like any cops even though they tried to talk nice. He didn't care that they were doing their job. They should all be hung," she said.
"To me it was like disdain for the police or disgust for the police, which was a little bit shocking obviously being a police officer standing right in front of him."
Olienick and Carbert are on trial in Court of King’s Bench on charges related to the blockade, which snarled traffic at the Canada-U.S. border at Coutts for two weeks to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
The officer said she and her partner were given scenarios each day to try to find out information as part of the investigation. She said that included determining the leadership, the possible location of weapons and a floor plan of the saloon.
Olienick started talking about a "Plan B" that he would put in place if police attempted to move in on the protesters, she said.
"That he had firearms stockpiled and thousands of rounds of ammo and could have everybody in there equipped," she said.
The operative said Olienick was also fearful that police would move in when protester numbers were down in the middle of week or in the middle of the night.
"Members were going to come in between 3 and 5 in the morning when everybody was sleeping and they didn't have comms to get everyone out to fight," she said.
"He did talk about having a satellite phone and having lots of military support outside that would rush in and smash through police vehicles and he said this is a hill he's prepared to die on and lots of them were."
The five-man, nine-woman jury is to hear more testimony on Friday.
Olienick and Carbert were arrested after Mounties found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers in the area.
The two are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2024.
-- by Bill Graveland in Calgary
The Canadian Press
Thu, June 13, 2024
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — An undercover Mountie who infiltrated the Coutts border blockade faced questions in court Thursday on her police work and whether she misinterpreted what was really going on.
The officer, who can’t be identified, was under cross-examination by the lawyer for one of two men accused of conspiring to murder police at the blockade in 2022.
Anthony (Tony) Olienick and Chris Carbert are on trial in Court of King’s Bench on charges surrounding the blockade, which snarled traffic at the Canada-U.S. border at Coutts, Alta., for two weeks to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
The officer, identified in court only as HQ1298, posed as a volunteer at the blockade.
She has testified that Olienick confided in her he expected to die in the standoff and planned to slit the throats of police.
She said Olienick also referred to police as the “devil’s arms,” which he explained was a way of saying police were doing the bidding of the “devil” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Defence lawyer Katherin Beyak suggested to the officer that the focus of the protest -- and most of the supporters -- was anger at government and not the RCMP.
"What I'm going to suggest to you is the frustration that was being expressed, not only by Tony, but also by other people ... was at the government as opposed to the RCMP. Would you agree with that?" Beyak asked.
"No,” the officer replied.
“The only person that talks about the police or the RCMP excessively is Tony.
“My conversations with Mr. Olienick are very much focused on the existence of a war. Nobody else talks about an existence of a war taking place with ... the RCMP."
Beyak is the lawyer for Carbert, but most of the Crown testimony to date has focused on the actions and words of Olienick.
HQ1298 has testified to her conversations and subsequent notes she made on conversations with Olienick
Beyak suggested the notes lacked critical context given they referred only to what Olienick said and not to what HQ1298 said.
"If it was something significant I had said, I obviously would have documented it,” the officer replied.
“My goal is to see what the truth is. Nothing more, nothing less."
When it came to the second accused, Carbert, the officer told court she hadn’t even been introduced to him until a few days into the undercover operation and that her interactions with him were limited.
“During (the first two days) I understand you did not have any contact or even see Mr. Carbert. Is that correct? asked Beyak.
The officer replied she wasn’t aware of seeing Carbert on one occasion and would not have known who he was if had been around on the second.
"Obviously you did not have any interaction with him," said Beyak.
"No I did not."
A second undercover officer, known as HQ1516, took the stand late in the afternoon.
She said she has been doing undercover work since 2015 and spent just two days in Coutts. She was asked by Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston about undercover operatives using romance to obtain information.
"You will never violate anyone's sexual integrity. You're not covered (legally) as well as morally. It's just not something I would do for myself or anyone else," HQ1516 said.
Olienick and Carbert were arrested after Mounties found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers in the area.
The two are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2024.
-- By Bill Graveland in Calgary
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