Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., on Feb. 1, 2022.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
An undercover RCMP officer who infiltrated the protest group that blocked the Canada-U.S. border in Coutts, Alta., testified that one of the men facing trial said he was part of a “revolution” and that he was prepared to meet police “with resistance” if they attempted to overrun the blockade.
The officer, who cannot be identified, has been working undercover for nearly two decades primarily in Alberta and Saskatchewan. She was referred to as HQ1298 in a Lethbridge court on Tuesday in the trial of two men, Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick, who have been charged with plotting to kill RCMP officers during the 2022 protest against COVID-19 government restrictions.
Testifying for the Crown, the RCMP operative said she went undercover with another female officer, both of whom were tasked with identifying leaders of the protest and gathering intel. She said she was introduced to Mr. Olienick, who went by Tony, on Feb. 9, 2022, at Smuggler’s Saloon in Coutts, which served as a makeshift headquarters for the protesters.
“He said he had been there since Day 1 and that he had sold his house and his vehicle so that he could be part of the revolution,” officer HQ1298 told the court. “He made note that if the police were to come into Coutts to try to overrun them, that they would be met with resistance.”
She added that Mr. Olienick told her and her partner that the group had “stockpiles of guns, hundreds of guns and thousands of ammunition and had the ability to outfit every man in the pub, in the Smuggler’s, to fight if they needed to.” She said he also told her that the protest group was surveilling police officers at all checkpoints in the area.
Four people were originally charged in the murder-conspiracy case, however Jerry Morin and Christopher Lysak pleaded guilty to lesser charges in February. Both Mr. Olienick and Mr. Carbert pleaded not guilty last Thursday to the conspiracy charge, in addition to weapons and mischief charges. Mr. Olienick also denied charges related to possession of an explosive substance.
Officer HQ1298 said she and her partner posed as supporters of the convoy and delivered food and volunteered to prepare meals at Smuggler’s Saloon. She said one of the female protesters told her she had a sore throat and that “one of the leaders,” Mr. Olienick, was going to bring her ivermectin – an anti-parasitic medication falsely claimed by some to be a cure for COVID-19.
The undercover officer later exchanged phone numbers with Mr. Olienick, who then gave her and her partner a ride in his truck to their vehicle parked away from the saloon.
The following day, on Feb. 10, the undercover officers were tasked with finding out more about leadership, locating and describing any firearms on site and getting a detailed floor plan of the saloon. Officer HQ1298 said Mr. Olienick gave the pair a ride back to the saloon. She said two bulletproof vests were in his truck.
Later that day, the undercover officer offered to help Mr. Olienick transport supplies into Coutts. He agreed and said he needed help picking up a “heavy package.” The undercover operatives were later introduced to Mr. Carbert and driven to a meetup spot for the exchange. Officer HQ1298 believed it was for guns but said the accused was not explicit about what they were there to collect.
At the meetup location and concerned about their safety, she made an excuse about checking in on a girlfriend and covertly called her supervisor who advised the officers to try and leave.
Her testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday.