‘Freedom Convoy’ organizer Tamara Lich to remain in custody through Canada Day weekend

One of the main organizers of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest that took place in Ottawa earlier this year will remain in custody through the Canada Day long weekend.

Tamara Lich has been ordered to remain behind bars until Tuesday, July 5 when she will face a full bail hearing.

The news comes as a new round of protests are hitting the capital in time for Canada Day.

Lich is accused of breaching her bail conditions and was arrested in Medicine Hat earlier this week. She wore a grey hoodie sweater via video link from jail during a brief court appearance on June 30.

Police did not answer questions about which bail conditions Lich was accused of breaching, or when and where the conditions were breached.

Lich lives in Medicine Hat and travelled to Ottawa for the massive protest that overtook the capital’s downtown streets for more than three weeks in February.

A judge initially denied Lich bail after her arrest during the convoy protest, but she was released in March after a review of the court decision.

Lich and fellow protest organizer Chris Barber are jointly accused of mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.

She was released with a long list of conditions, including a ban from all social media and an order not to “support anything related to the Freedom Convoy.”

RELATED: ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizer Tamara Lich won’t return to jail after bail release

“We are not aware of anything that could have prompted this and are surprised by this development given the recent bail review hearing in Ontario where Ms. Lich’s positive record for complying with her conditions was one reason why some of her conditions were relaxed at that time,” Eric Granger, one of Lich’s lawyers, wrote in an email.

In May, an Ontario judge ruled Lich could remain on bail until her trial after a Crown prosecutor argued she’d violated one of her bail conditions by agreeing to accept an award for her leadership during the Ottawa protest, and should be sent back behind bars to wait for her court appearance.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips said he made his decision because Lich had followed her bail conditions, her surety supervised her well and she’d already had a “taste of jail,” which he said lowered her risk to reoffend.

Phillips amended her release conditions to allow her to visit Ottawa, but not the downtown core. He maintained the ban on Lich’s access to social media, saying that prohibiting such access remained warranted.

The City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service said they’ll be taking a zero tolerance approach to any demonstrations this weekend.

Files from Cormac Mac Sweeney and The Canadian Press were used in this report