Controversial convoy organizer Pat King speaks at inquiry: ‘What’s a little bit of horns for ten days?’
Pat King #PatKing
OTTAWA – Convoy leader Pat King sparred with lawyers and downplayed previous remarks where he suggested Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would “catch a bullet,” in his testimony before the Emergencies Act Commission on Wednesday night.
King is a controversial figure in the convoy movement and in addition to the “catch a bullet” video, he has made other videos talking about violence, as well as videos saying that there was a plan to depopulate the Anglo-Saxon race. He faces several criminal charges for his involvement in the Freedom Convoy.
Several other organizers have said this week they tried to distance themselves from King and felt he wasn’t helpful. He denied testimony from other organizers who said they had asked him to leave the convoy before it arrived in Ottawa.
In response to questions from Commission lawyer Jeffrey Leon, King said the “catch a bullet” comments were taken out of context and accused the Liberal government of having spread the video. He said he regretted having recorded it, but had just been denied boarding on a flight because he was unvaccinated.
He said he didn’t mean it as a threat, but someone in the future might respond more aggressively.
“If you push people too far, especially denying them their flight, you never know who you’re gonna get and that person might have a mental breakdown.”
King gave a series of clumsy explanations for his other remarks, referencing UN speeches by a former Iranian president and what he claimed were CSIS documents.
Leon showed King a video of him laughing about Ottawa residents who said they could not sleep during the convoy. King said he often laughs in conversation
“People are complaining that they heard horns for ten days. They remember what we went through for the last two years, what’s a little bit of horns for ten days?”
Leon also asked King why he had participated in a “slow roll,” where a line of vehicles drive at a crawl to slow traffic as a sign of protest, around the Ottawa airport on Feb. 10. Another key convoy figure, Tom Marazzo, said earlier in the day it was staged to express anger at City of Ottawa officials.
King said he did it because he had nothing else to do.
“We just went for a cruise,” he said. “We were bored… we went out for a ride to see what Ottawa was like.”
A skeptical Leon replied, “you spent two hours at the airport seeing what Ottawa was?”
“We were bored. It was cold,” King said.
Leon ended his examination by playing a montage of controversial video statements by King and then stating he had no further questions as he walked back to his seat.
King later got into a testy exchange with lawyer Paul Champ, who is representing Ottawa residents in businesses at the inquiry and in a class-action suit against King and other convoy organizers. That suit has successfully frozen convoy funds, including
King claimed, his own personal bank accounts.
“You took my kids’ college tuition. I hope we’re proud,” King said to Champ as his testimony began.
King insisted the protesters weren’t meant to harm people in Ottawa, but acknowledged many didn’t appreciate the convoy.
He said he was forced to switch hotels after the one he was staying at faced community pressure not to rent him a room.
“This town is full of a bunch of people who really don’t like people who speak out,” King said.
Convoy organizers are set to testify Thursday and Friday this week. Champ said their voices were being amplified while Ottawa residents got little opportunity to speak.
“I’ll just note for the record that the people of Ottawa got one morning in this proceeding we’ve had a week of all of these convoy organizers.”
That exchange was abruptly interrupted by a vocal outburst from a convoy supporter in the room that caused Commissioner Paul Rouleau to suddenly halt the proceedings and leave the room.
“This is my capital city too… it was disgusting how I was treated by the citizens of Ottawa” while he participated in convoy protests, he yelled as he was escorted out the room by security.
Other compatriots in the room tried to hush him or yelled to be quiet out of fear Rouleau would clear the room.
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