“Given that the media outlets, the big ones in Canada are organs of the state, literally, we don’t really know anything about what these four men have been accused of doing. Don’t you think it would send a powerful message to go visit them in jail and find out what they’ve been accused of?” Mr. Carlson asked Ms. Smith during a speaking event in Calgary on Jan. 24.

Chris Carbert, Christopher Lysak, Jerry Morin, and Anthony Olienick were arrested in February 2022 during the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and pandemic-related restrictions. The RCMP said firearms, ammunition, and body armour were found in three trailers located near Coutts.

“What I have learned is that … the Crown operates independently, prosecutors have to make sure that they have a reasonable likelihood of conviction, and I guess they will have to assess whether or not that is the case,” she said.

Ms. Smith added that organizations like the Canadian Constitution Foundation, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Canadian Civil Liberties Association had done “good work” on that front. “They’re doing the work in the way that our system allows. I truly wish I could do more, but I’ve had my wings clipped in the last year,” she said.