Prominent figure from Canada's trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions found guilty

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — One of the most prominent figures from Canada's trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 has been found guilty on five counts including mischief and disobeying a court order.

A judge ruled Friday that Pat King was guilty on one count each of mischief, counseling others to commit mischief and counseling others to obstruct police. He was also found guilty on two counts of disobeying a court order. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

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 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

Members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy also blockaded U.S.-Canada border crossings in protest.

The prosecution alleged King was a protest leader who was instrumental to the disruption in Ottawa. The prosecution alleged King coordinated the repeated bouts of honking, ordering the protesters to lay on the horn every 30 minutes for 10 minutes at a time, and told people to “hold the line” when he was aware that police and the city had asked the truckers to leave.

The prosecution's case relied mainly on King’s own videos, which he posted to social media throughout the protest to document the demonstration and communicate with those taking part.

King’s lawyers argued that he was peacefully protesting and was not one of the demonstration's leaders.

King was found not guilty on three counts of intimidation and one count of obstructing police himself.

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 the honking of horns and music from parties.

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 protests were first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. They eventually encompassed fury over COVID-19 restrictions and dislike of Trudeau, reflecting the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger.

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.

Pat King, top center, a prominent figure in Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, is surrounded by supporters and media as he leaves court in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pat King, top center, a prominent figure in Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, is surrounded by supporters as he leaves court in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pat King, a prominent figure in Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, is surrounded by supporters as he leaves court in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pat King, rear center, a prominent figure in Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, is joined by supporters as he leaves court in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pat King, top center, a prominent figure in Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, is surrounded by supporters and media as he leaves court in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pat King, a prominent figure in Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, arrives at court in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pat King, a prominent figure in Canada’s trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, arrives at court in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A jury convicted two men of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a family of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard, according to a prosecution spokesperson.

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who prosecutors say went by the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that has brought increasing numbers of Indians into the U.S, prosecutors said.

They were each convicted on four counts related to human smuggling, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally.

“This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human smuggling and of those criminal organizations that value profit and greed over humanity,” Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said.

"To earn a few thousand dollars, these traffickers put men, women and children in extraordinary peril leading to the horrific and tragic deaths of an entire family. Because of this unimaginable greed, a father, a mother and two children froze to death in sub-zero temperatures on the Minnesota-Canadian border,” Luger added.

The men could face maximum sentences as long as 20 years for the first two counts, 10 years for the third count and five years for the fourth count, the U.S. Attorney’s Office told The Associated Press before the trial. Luger said Friday that various factors will be considered in determining the sentence that will be sought.

Federal prosecutors said 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, froze to death Jan. 19, 2022, while trying to cross the border into Minnesota in a scheme organized by Patel and Shand. Patel is a common Indian surname, and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel.

Before the jury’s conviction on Friday, the federal trial in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, saw testimony from an alleged participant in the smuggling ring, a survivor of the treacherous journey across the northern border, border patrol agents and forensic experts.

Defense attorneys were pitted against each other, with Shand’s team arguing that he was unwittingly roped into the scheme by Patel. Patel’s lawyers, The Canadian Press reported, said their client had been misidentified. They said “Dirty Hary,” the alleged nickname for Patel found in Shand’s phone, is a different person. Bank records and witness testimony from those who encountered Shand near the border don’t tie him to the crime, they added.

Prosecutors said Patel coordinated the operation while Shand was a driver. Shand was to pick up 11 Indian migrants on the Minnesota side of the Canadian border, prosecutors said. Only seven survived the foot crossing. Canadian authorities found two parents and their young children later that morning, dead from the cold.

Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger addresses reporters on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minn., after two men were found guilty of human smuggling charges in connection with a case that led to the deaths of a family of four from India, who tried to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a blizzard in 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

FILE - Road signage is posted just outside of Emerson, Manitoba on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

In an image released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, shows how the migrants who survived the crossing were terribly inadequately dressed. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP)

In an undated image released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, shows items found in a migrant child’s backpack. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP)

FILE - Road signage is posted just outside of Emerson, Manitoba, Jan. 20, 2022. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

The Edward J. Devitt U.S. Courthouse and Federal building is seen, where two men on trial face human smuggling charges, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Fergus Falls, Minn. (AP Photo/Michael Goldberg)

This combination image shows left to right; undated photo released by the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office shows Harshkumar Patel in Elk River, Minn., and undated photo released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows Steve Shand. (AP Photo)

FILE - A border marker, between the United States and Canada is shown just outside of Emerson, Manitoba, on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP, File)