Trial to begin Thursday in murder-conspiracy case tied to Coutts border blockade

The trial for two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder during the border protest at Coutts, Alta., is set to begin Thursday.

Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert were arrested after RCMP found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers in the community in February 2022.

Mounties said at the time that they seized long guns, handguns, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and body armour.

A five-man, nine-woman jury was selected Friday, but the trial was delayed while the court dealt with pretrial arguments.

The two accused are to officially enter pleas before the Crown gives an opening statement.

The blockade, part of protests held across the country against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, paralyzed the busy Canada-United States border crossing for more than two weeks.