A judge refused bail for a man accused of conspiring to commit murder at a border checkpoint in southern Alberta. Chris Carbert, 45, appeared by video at Queens Bench Court in Lethbridge on Friday to hear the decision after a bail hearing last week.

Carbert and three other men are charged with conspiracy to kill police officers at a siege near Coutts, Alta., protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions.

One man, Christopher Lysak, was denied bail in March. Anthony Oleniuk, whose bail hearing began this morning, and Jerry Morin remain in custody and will return to court on June 13. The protest near Coutts began in late January and lasted about three weeks.

Fourteen people were charged in February after Canadian police found a cache of long guns, pistols, body armor, and large amounts of ammunition.

The police say a group of protesters were prepared to use force if the siege was disrupted. Officers described the threat as "very serious."