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Ottawa convoy protest organizer Pat King is now facing perjury and obstruction of justice charges related to testimony he gave at his bail review hearing last week.
King was arrested on Feb. 18 on charges related to his involvement in the three-week protest against COVID-19 restrictions that overran the streets of Ottawa.
He was denied bail on Feb. 25, but on Wednesday last week King appeared in court for a bail review so his lawyers could argue for his release while he awaits his trial.
The next day, the Crown announced it would lay perjury and obstruction of justice charges against him.
The three counts of perjury and three counts of obstruction of justice, as well as the reasons for the charges, were read aloud to King in court Tuesday.
The details of the testimony that led to the allegations are protected by a publication ban.
These latest accusations are in addition to 10 charges related to King’s involvement in the downtown Ottawa protest earlier this year.
The previous charges include mischief, intimidation, obstructing police and disobeying a court order.
King’s hearing came to an abrupt halt last Wednesday when it appeared his lawyer’s computer was hacked in the middle of the proceedings. Lawyer David Goodman later said the threat wasn’t as serious as previously thought, and no files were compromised.
The hearing was adjourned the next day to give King’s legal team time to process the new charges, leaving King visibly disappointed with his head in his hands.
Since then, he’s tapped a new lawyer to fight for his release and defend him against the mounting number of charges.
Ottawa lawyer Natasha Calvinho told the court Tuesday she has been retained as King’s full counsel, and asked for some time to get up to speed on his case.
King will appear in court next week to reschedule the rest of his bail review hearing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2022.
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