Pat King to Be Resentenced After Appeal Loss

Pat King, a prominent figure in the 2022 convoy protests, will face a new sentencing after the Ontario Court of Appeal agreed with Crown prosecutors who claimed his initial sentence was too light.

The Crown appealed following a trial judge’s decision that convicted King on five criminal charges but found him not guilty of intimidation and obstructing police.

In a ruling released Friday, the Court of Appeal reversed the acquittal on intimidation, issued a conviction for that charge, and scheduled a new sentencing hearing later this year at the Ontario Superior Court.

During that hearing, King will encounter fresh arguments regarding his sentence, which will take into account both the original convictions and the new intimidation conviction.

“His purpose was to use the pressure that was being exerted against area residents to compel the Government of Canada to abstain from exercising its lawful authority to pursue the COVID-19 policies it considered to be in the public interest, and to instead change these policies to satisfy Mr. King,” the court wrote.

King was initially sentenced in February 2025 to a three-month conditional sentence under house arrest, followed by probation.

He also received credit for 161 days spent in pretrial custody after his arrest linked to the protests that paralyzed downtown Ottawa.

‘Targeted attack on Ottawa residents’

A three-judge appeal panel determined that King played a key role in what it described as “a co-ordinated, targeted attack on Ottawa residents aimed at coercing change through highly disruptive criminal conduct.”

The judges stated there was “overwhelming evidence” showing that even before protesters and trucks arrived in Ottawa, King planned to occupy downtown by blocking streets and causing distress for residents, businesses, and workers through constant horn honking and other disruptive tactics.

“Mr. King not only incited these activities, he instructed his followers to resist police and ignore court-ordered injunctions,” the decision said.

Since arriving in Ottawa for what’s known as the Freedom Convoy protests, King has continued using social media to talk about his court appearances, share details about the convoy, and discuss other grievances while raising funds for his legal costs.

Reading aloud from the decision live on Friday while visibly emotional, King accepted he would now serve time behind bars but stated he would do so “with his head held high.”

He mentioned he didn’t have enough money left to keep fighting his case.

“You got what you wanted, so to all those who were people crying about how we disrupted you, you got it, congratulations,” he said while addressing around 27,000 viewers.

Durning King’s original sentencing hearing earlier this year, Crown prosecutors requested a ten-year prison term. King’s lawyers argued instead for three years’ probation based on time already served in custody.

The appeal court noted King’s new sentence should “reflect a full appreciation of the public impact of the offences as well as scope duration and persistence of Mr. King’s actions.”

The appeal ruling might also affect other cases related to Freedom Convoy participants. Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are still waiting for decisions from Ontario Court of Appeal regarding their convictions and sentences.

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