A Crown prosecutor says two men on trial over the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., conspired to kill police officers and believed they were justified in doing so.

91裸聊视频淭hey planned and prepared for what they believed would be an inevitable, violent event,91裸聊视频� Matt Dalidowicz told jurors in his opening statement Thursday.

91裸聊视频淭hey believed in their own minds that they had the right to act violently in response to police enforcing the law to end the blockade.

91裸聊视频淭hey saw this as their ground zero.91裸聊视频�

Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert are on trial charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the protest in early 2022.

They were arrested after RCMP found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers.

The blockade paralyzed traffic at the busy Canada-United States border crossing for two weeks amid broader protests over what some perceived as unfair and unnecessary government restrictions and vaccine mandates in the fight against COVID-19.

Dalidowicz told jurors that police were faced with a challenging situation when the blockade began that January.

Officers talked with protest leaders but learned more through undercover officers, he said.

91裸聊视频淧olice discovered a group within the blockade that was planning something much more sinister than merely blocking the border,91裸聊视频� Dalidowicz said, his lectern turned to face the jurors.

91裸聊视频淭hey discovered they were no longer simply dealing with a mere protest. They discovered a plot to kill police officers, if police enforced the law to end the blockade.91裸聊视频�

The accused are also charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick faces a further charge of being in possession of a pipe bomb.

Dalidowicz said jurors will hear wiretap and weapons evidence tied to Olienick and Carbert.

91裸聊视频淧lanning and preparation prove the plot to kill police officers,91裸聊视频� he said.

Prosecutors plan to call 23 witnesses, most of them Mounties.

The blockade made national headlines and polarized opinion at the time.

Inside the courtroom, there were about 50 supporters of the accused.

Outside court, there were two chalk messages scrawled on the sidewalk. One said, Free the Coutts Boys. The other: Justice for Tony + Chris. Free Them Now.

Echoes of the divisive national debate were apparent last week when lawyers on both sides challenged some potential jurors from sitting on the panel.

Justice David Labrenz told lawyers it would be difficult to find jurors not familiar with the case and those who promise to remain impartial should be taken at their word.

That trust didn91裸聊视频檛 extend to one potential juror, who was dismissed after showing up for jury selection with a picture of the accused on his T-shirt.

Fourteen jurors 91裸聊视频� five men and nine women 91裸聊视频� are hearing evidence in the trial and two are to be dismissed before deliberations begin.

Two additional jurors were sent home earlier Thursday, including one who told court her sister91裸聊视频檚 boyfriend was a cellmate of one of the accused.

The first witness was RCMP Sgt. Greg Tulloch, who along with his partner arrived Feb. 1, 2022, to spell off two other officers tasked with communicating with the protesters.

Tulloch said he didn91裸聊视频檛 speak to either of the accused but did give a warning to protesters that police were planning to take action. He said he addressed the crowd at Smugglers Saloon, a local gathering spot for the convoy members, and told them it was time to leave.

91裸聊视频淭he intent was to direct everybody who had the responsibility for the control of a vehicle to go out to the highway and move it,91裸聊视频� Tulloch said.

91裸聊视频淚f the people who were in control of the vehicles would not take the vehicles on their own, then the RCMP would begin taking action to remove the vehicles and people associated with them.

91裸聊视频淭hey were not interested in doing what I suggested. It was very clear they were not going to be removing their vehicles.91裸聊视频�

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press