Chapter 20 photos - Karl, Coventry organizer

• millwright who lives in southwestern Ontario

• Coventry organizer

• early 40s at the time of the protest

Good view of the tents erected at Coventry. Screen capture from a video recorded 7 Feb. 2022, by 4K Guy. Click image to see full video on YouTube.

Saunas at Coventry. Photo from Facebook. (Company name on both saunas & a license plate attached to the sauna on the right have been digitially blurred).

Heated toilet trailer at Coventry. Photo from Facebook.

One of several trucks that transported donated food to Ottawa. Photo supplied by Karl. (Click image for large, high resolution photo.)

Text message sent to a Convoy organizer by constable Isabelle Cyr-Pidcock, a member of the Ottawa police liaison team.

OPP vehicles involved in the raid on Coventry. Screen capture from a video recorded by 4K Guy. (Click image to view entire video. On YouTube, it’s dramatically & inaccurately titled ‘Tense OPP units at high-risk zone during freedom camp dismantle.’ ) Numerous additional OPP vehicles can be seen at the beginning of a second video here.

Screen capture from a video recorded by 4K Guy. Click image for full video.

Screen capture from video recorded by 4K Guy (click image).

Screen capture from a video supplied by Dan.

Screen capture from a 4K Guy video (click image).

This sign, at Coventry, captured the central themes of the trucker protest. Freedom. Choice. And the exasperation felt by millions of Canadians following two years of regimented daily life.

A graph constructed by author Donna Laframboise to double-check/verify Karl’s claims that COVID cases dropped rather than spiked while thousands of truckers and supporters were in Ottawa. On the first Sunday (Jan 30), 188 people per every 100,000 in the city had a confirmed case of COVID. Two weeks later (Feb. 13), only 107 people did. A week after the protest was over (Feb 27), COVID cases were less than half the number when the truckers first arrived. Data pulled from CBC’s interactive graph at this link.

original Substack posts about Karl:

• The Government Went Insane: 'I was ready to lose everything. I didn’t care. I wanted this country back.'

• Half My Convoy Just Got Taken Out: Organizer says police closed highway exits & sent drivers down blind alleys to prevent trucks from reaching Ottawa.

• How Coventry Got Its Generator: 'I witnessed God, basically. Or a higher power. I had given up.'

• Police Raid on Coventry: 'They’re just here for the fuel. Don’t worry about it, we’ll get more.'

• The Non-Emergency: 'You won’t talk to your own civilians? You won’t have a conversation?'

• Best Social Experiment Ever: 'You’ve got people kissing, hugging, no masks, not obeying any of the COVID restrictions. And your COVID counts are dropping?'