Charge withdrawn against Freedom Convoy supporter arrested at Ambassador Bridge blockade

Supporters of the trucker convoy on Huron Church Road near the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday, Feb.8, 2022. (Sijia Liu / CTV Windsor)

News -

A charge has been withdrawn against a Freedom Convoy supporter arrested at the Ambassador Bridge blockade almost two years ago.

Kevin Bindner was facing charges of mischief and disobeying a court order during the February 2022 protest.

"The right to protest is a foundational democratic right in Canada," Adam Blake-Gallipeau, counsel for Bindner said in a news release. “In many cases, we argue that this right has been violated. We will continue to defend individual rights and freedoms."

The Democracy Fund is representing 13 of the people arrested and charged after the bridge was blocked for a week.

"We were fully prepared to proceed to trial as we believed Mr. Bindner had a strong case," asserted Adam Blake-Gallipeau, counsel for Bindner.

According to the news release, Bindner was charged while crossing the street with his wife, and Gallipeau says the Crown would have had to prove beyond reasonable doubt Bindner obstructed traffic but also “the intent behind such actions.”

Bindner’s case was headed for a trial in April 2024 but the charges were withdrawn Jan. 12, after he made a $500 donation to Chatham-Kent Hospice Foundation.

This development, according to the Democracy Fund, is part of the “alternative measures” process in the Criminal Code of Canada.

“These measures require no admissions from the accused nor result in a determination of guilt or a criminal record,” the news release reads. “However, they do require the acknowledgment of responsibility for the act or omission forming the basis of the alleged offence.”