Two Alberta men sentenced for roles in 2022 Coutts border protest [Video]

One Alberta man has been sentenced to jail and another ordered to serve community time for their roles in the illegal Coutts border blockade in 2022.

Marco Van Huigenbos was sentenced to four months in jail Friday and Gerhard (George) Janzen received a three-month sentence, which is to be served in the community.

Neither accused showed emotion and spectators packing the courtroom stayed silent as Justice Keith Yamauchi delivered the sentence in Lethbridge Court of Kings Bench.

Yamauchi told the pair the illegal blockade affected the lives of many Canadians and said, “The sentence must make it clear that the majority of Canadians denounce their actions.”

The pair were convicted of mischief over $5,000 for their part in the blockade, which tied up cross-border traffic with the United States for two weeks to protest COVID-19 pandemic rules and vaccine mandates.

A third man, Alex Van Herk, was to have been …