OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – The legal team representing Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich observed on the first day of her trial that the judge overseeing the court case is clearly “not being led by the crown.”

“The judge is very clearly in charge of this courtroom,” commented The Democracy Fund (TDF) on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday.

“She is not being led by the crown.”

A confident-looking Lich and Chris Barber walked into an Ottawa courtroom to begin their four-week long trial for leading the Freedom Convoy on Tuesday morning.

The TDF said that the crown attorney’s opening statement “provided little insight into how the prosecution intends to prove its case,” adding that it looks like the crown will “attempt to show that Lich, and her co-accused, Chris Barber, exercised their influence to cause protesters to break the law.”

After some housekeeping rules were established, the court was shown an 11-minute video compilation of police footage that was put together by Constable Craig Barlow of the Ottawa Police Service’s cyber-crimes unit.

Barlow was the only witness to take the stand on Tuesday and testified about the video compilation which was compiled by footage taken from the Sûreté du Québec.

He told the crown that his video mashup was a representation of video footage he had been sifting through for months. However, according to the TDF, Barlow “later admitted on cross-examination that it did not show the lighter sides of the protest, such as people hugging and children playing hockey, nor did it show arrests or police violence against the protesters.”

“The cross-examination was adjourned after Barlow admitted to Barber’s lawyer, Diane Magas, that he did not disclose to the defence all the video he reviewed when creating the compilation,” the TDF noted.

The TDF is crowdfunding Lich’s legal costs. Lawrence Greenspon, a senior and well-known Ottawa criminal lawyer, is representing her.

As for Barber, he is relying on local fundraisers to help pay for his legal defense.

The TDF noted that the “Judge says that, contrary to what CBC said, this trial is NOT being supervised by the Superior Court of Justice. This is an Ontario Court of Justice trial.”

The prosecution will have about 10 days to prove its case with the crown calling forth some 22 witnesses, those being Ontario Provincial Police members, senior Ottawa city officials, downtown Ottawa residents, peace officers, and potentially former Mayor Jim Watson of Ottawa, who was seen at the courthouse Tuesday.

The TDF noted that the crown “intends to enter over 100 exhibits, including video and social media evidence relating to the protests.”

Lich was first arrested on February 17, 2022, only two days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacted the Emergencies Act (EA), which he claimed was needed to deal with the Freedom Convoy protesters.

Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23, 2022.

Lich and Barber were charged with multiple offenses in 2022 such as mischief and obstructing police for taking part in and organizing the Freedom Convoy, counseling mischief and counseling intimidation. As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich was then jailed for weeks on the non-violent mischief charges.

On X (formerly Twitter yesterday), People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier observed that if Canada had a “sound” legal system, it should not be Lich and Barber on trial, but the politicians who imposed mandates on Canadians.

“In a country with a sound justice system, Trudeau and all the premiers who criminally violated our fundamental rights for two years would be tried, not Tamara and Chris,” Bernier wrote.

In early 2022, the “Freedom Convoy” of thousands of Canadians from coast to coast rallied to Ottawa demanding an end to COVID mandates in all forms. The peaceful protest was unprecedented in Canadian history.

Lich was last set free from jail immediately after Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman granted her bail last August. The judge, in his decision, criticized her earlier detainment as invalid.

Despite being released on bail, Lich is still obligated to uphold certain conditions of release, which include not “verbally, in writing, financially, or by any other means support[ing] anything related to the Freedom Convoy.”

She is also mandated to reside in her home province of Alberta, notwithstanding being in Ottawa for her court case, and cannot use social media.

Crown intends to use ‘Carter Application’ to try and prove Lich’s guilt from Barber’s statements

The TDF in its update on day one of the trial noted that the crown intends to bring forth a “Carter Application,” in which it will “be asking the judge to use Barber’s statements and actions to establish the guilt of Lich, and vice versa.”

The TDF noted that this type of application is very “complicated” and requires that the crown prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that there was a “conspiracy or plan in place and that Lich was a party to it based on direct evidence.”

“If satisfied on these two points, then the judge could consider statements and actions of Barber as admissible evidence in establishing the guilt of Lich,” the TDF observed.

As for the defense, Lich’s lawyer Greenspon has “not disclosed its theory nor is it required to do so.”

The TDF noted that Greenspon is “not required to do” this “because the burden of proof rests on the crown to prove Lich and Barber’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The TDF in a press release last week noted that Lich’s trial will be a “significant moment in Canada’s legal and social landscape.”

As LifeSiteNews reported, Lich sat down in June for a wide-ranging interview with famed Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.

Lich told Peterson how after COVID-19 began she started to do her own research about the virus and the associated vaccines, listening to experts such as Dr. Byram Bridle, Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Robert Malone, and others. She explained how she began to doubt the credibility of the government’s approach to managing the virus, which in Canada included harsh lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine passports, among other measures.

Liberal-friendly Judge Paul Rouleau in February exonerated Trudeau’s use of the EA to decimate the Freedom Convoy last year after releasing the final report of the Public Order Emergency Commission.

People wishing to help with Lich’s legal fees can contact the TDF here.

As for Barber, Diane Magas, LL.B at Magas Law PC in Ottawa, is taking donations for him at [email protected] via e-transfer. The note for the e-transfer should have in it the message, “For Chris Barber.”