Ottawa protest organizer Tamara Lich has been released on bail for a second time after a judge overturned an earlier ruling that sent her back into custody. “I’m very happy to be free and out,” Lich said as she was mobbed by supporters as she left an Ottawa courthouse Tuesday. She had been in custody since June 27, accused of violating the terms of her release. Superior Court Judge Andrew Goodman said the justice of the peace who presided over Lich’s June 27 hearing made several legal errors and misunderstood some facts when he ordered her continued detention. Lich was accused of violating a bail condition barring her from contacting 10 other protest organizers, including former Freedom Convoy spokesman Tom Marazzo. They sat at the same table at a Freedom Award gala in Toronto in June and were photographed together. Goodman thought the breach claim was “weak” and not “logically connected” to the idea behind the no-contact order – to prevent another Freedom Convoy protest from being staged. He disagreed with the magistrates’ court on the seriousness of the charges – a key factor in bail decisions – saying he was unlikely to face a long prison sentence if convicted. The Crown had argued that Lich could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison because of the impact of the protest on the city and its citizens. “Mrs. Lich is presumed innocent,” Goodman said in his ruling, noting there is “uncertainty as to the extent to which she will be held responsible” for the protest. “None of these reasons,” Goodman said, “are intended to minimize the harm caused to the citizens of Ottawa” or the costs to various levels of government. Goodman noted that Lich had obeyed all other bail conditions imposed on her for nearly four months and took the step of returning to court to ask that the conditions be varied to allow her to attend the gala. Lich’s defense attorneys said they were pleased with the decision. “Obviously, we are disappointed that it has taken nearly a month in custody to get to this point, but we are pleased with the conclusion today – that her detention order was clearly inappropriate and that she has now been corrected and released,” the lawyer said. Eric Granger off the field. Before the ruling, Lich appeared on the stand to face cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Moiz Karimjee, who asked about her personal financial situation. Lich said she had received about $69,000 in donations for her defense. Karijmee played a TikTok video in court in which another protest organizer claimed Lich had once expressed support for a plan to buy an Ottawa property to be used as a base for the protests. But Lich denied any involvement in a plan by a group called The United People of Canada to acquire a former church in the ByWard Market to use as an “embassy.” Lich also told the court that her husband Dwayne Lich traveled to Ottawa during the protest on a chartered plane paid for by the Adopt-a-Trucker fundraiser, not a private jet funded by a “good Christian,” as she testified Dwayne Lich in February. Lich, 49, still faces a list of criminal charges including disorderly conduct, counseling intimidation and counseling obstructing a police officer related to the three-week occupation of downtown Ottawa. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August.
