Leading organizer of Canada COVID-19 protests granted bail

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — A Canadian judge has granted bail to one of the leading organizers of the three-week convoy protest against coronavirus measures in Ottawa.

Tamara Lich was initially denied bail Feb. 22 after Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois deemed her detention necessary to protect the public.

Lich’s lawyer launched a bail review, arguing that decision may have been tainted by the fact that Bourgeois ran as a candidate for the governing Liberal party in the 2011 election and said her own community had been affected by the protest. Superior Court Justice John M. Johnston found no merit to those arguments but said Monday the did find several other errors of law in that decision.

Lich must have no contact with fellow convoy organizers and leave Ottawa within 24 hours.