4 Men Are Charged With Conspiring To Murder RCMP Officers At Alberta's Coutts Border Protest

Four protesters have been charged with conspiring to murder RCMP officers at Alberta's Coutts border crossing.

The developments came to light on Tuesday afternoon during a live address from Alberta RCMP Deputy Commissioner Zablocki and Chief Superintendent Daroux who were providing an update to the protests at the Canada-U.S. border and the arrests made earlier this week.

On Monday, RCMP received information that a group of protesters had a "willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade" and that they had access to firearms and a "large quantity of ammunition."

Eleven people were initially arrested by officers before two others were also taken into custody later.

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Of those arrested, most face charges of mischief to property over $5,000 and possession of a weapon, including:

• Jaclyne Martin, 39
• Ursla Allred, 22
• Joanne Person, 62
• Luke Berk, 62
• Evan Colenutt, 23
• Johnson Law, 39
• Justin Martin, 22
• Eastin Oler, 22
• Janx Zaremba, 18

Four men are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder:

• Chris Carbert, 44
• Chris Lysak, 48
• Anthony Olienick, 39
• Jerry Morin, 40

All remain in custody and Lysak has additionally been charged with uttering threats.

Zablocki said the weapons seizure and subsequent arrests speak to the "serious criminal activities" taking place during this protest.

He added: "The dangerous, criminal activity occurring away from the TV cameras and social media posts was real and organized, and it could have been deadly for citizens, protesters and officers."

Daroux said their main goal is to maintain public safety and facilitate a lawful protest which meant maintaining an open border.

He added: "I want to stress - at all times during this operation, our officers were investigating, gathering evidence and working towards a safe and effective plan to enforce the applicable laws and legislation. All of this was guided by the level of threat to our officers and anyone involved."