Murder-conspiracy trial hears of guns found in travel trailer near Coutts blockade

An RCMP officer has told a murder-conspiracy trial that several weapons were discovered inside a travel trailer parked near the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta.

Sgt. Gary MacLaren testified he spotted an assault rifle on a bed, a shotgun on a kitchen bench, another rifle under a mattress and several boxes of ammunition.

He says officers also found a machete and two sets of body armour, as well as a driver’s licence and a firearms acquisition certificate belonging to one of the accused, Chris Carbert.

Carbert and Anthony Olienick were charged with conspiracy to commit murder after police raided the trailer and two others parked on private property in Coutts. 

The trial has heard the property owner was letting the two accused and other protesters stay there.

It has also heard from undercover Mounties, who testified Olienick considered the blockade a war, and expressed a hatred of police and a desire to kill officers.

The blockade in protest of COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates paralyzed traffic at the busy Canada-U.S. border crossing for two weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2024.