Alberta mischief trial hears RCMP tried to convince Coutts protesters to quit [Video]

An RCMP officer has described the tenuous, and often fraught, relationship police forged with protesters as they tried to end the COVID-era border blockade in Coutts, Alta.

Sgt. Greg Tulloch continued his testimony Wednesday at the trial of Alex Van Herk, Marco Van Huigenbos and Gerhard (George) Janzen, who are charged with mischief over $5,000.

Crown prosecutors have told jurors they intend to prove the trio spearheaded the protest that tied up cross-border traffic between Alberta and Montana for two weeks in early 2022 in protest of pandemic restrictions.

Tulloch said efforts were made to convince the truckers to pull up stakes and leave when he first arrived on Feb. 1. He said the three accused were identified as leaders and he had most of his dealings with Van Huigenbos.

At one point, Van Huigenbos informed police a number of individuals driving logging trucks were determined to make their way …