Freedom George, known locally as High Prairie citizen Tyson George Billings, has been active in freedom of choice rallies – he does not like to call them protests – for almost three years since the COVID pandemic hit in 2020. He is particularly passionate about freedom of choice when it comes to wearing facemasks. It came to a head in Ottawa earlier this year when Billings was one of thousands to attend the Freedom Convoy 2022 rally. The event drew worldwide media attention and eventually landed Billings in jail. Many supported the Freedom Convoy rally while many did not. No matter what your belief, Billings stood firm in his stance and paid a price. Amongst many criticisms of mainstream media reports, South Peace News decided to give Billings a chance to have his say.

CLEGG: “From Day 1, you have been very passionate about the masks mandate. Is it all simply about freedom of choice?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “It is about freedom of choice. Wear your mask if you like, just don’t push mandates on people when it says right on the box ‘does not stop viruses’. Not to mention the 10-30 per cent less oxygen to the lungs which has also been proven.”
CLEGG: “From Day 1, in your words, what exactly has this all been about?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “This has been about fighting for our freedoms now and for generations to come. They are slowly taking more and more away. Canadians will not stand for what they are doing or for the rest of the world for that matter.”
CLEGG: “Who exactly is ‘they’?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Government and the elite.”
CLEGG: “Many have supported you and the freedom cause but many also disagree. What do you say to those who disagree with you?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “It’s OK to disagree and I’m OK with that. What’s not OK is for people to push their beliefs on others when clearly what the government has been trying is not working. Making people wear a mask or get a needle because you think it’s right is actually wrong behaviour. We need to respect that people are different and that’s OK.”
CLEGG: “Why go to Ottawa?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Going to Ottawa was a choice I made shortly after it was announced. I have set up camp at the Legislature in Edmonton before with many like-minded people so this was not totally new to me. I felt the Spirit telling me to go so I did.”
CLEGG: “What do you mean by ‘Spirit’?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Jesus!”
CLEGG: “Did you attend other protests besides the one in High Prairie?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: [He prefers to call them rallies, not protests] “I have attended multiple rallies over the last 2.5 years. Including occupying the Edmonton Legislature grounds for 22 days in September-October 2021.”
CLEGG: “Your group has been adamant about the poor reporting from the national press and/or mainstream media. What were your concerns?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “The mainstream media is lying about a lot of things. We proved that again in Ottawa. Mainstream media only reports what they are told to report and that is a concern.”
CLEGG: “In your mind, describe the Ottawa protest. There have been accusations of “planted” controversy by government. Do you concur?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, there was planted controversy by the government. The government had Antifa come down with their Swastika flag and took a photo shoot. The government had their cops come down and confiscate fuel cans for a photo shoot. The government had their cops come down and photo shoot taking down tents and camps which was not true. The government pays Antifa people to come down and get the crowd going. By that I mean working them up to provoke violence.”
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Antifa is an American left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement group known to use violent and non-violent methods to achieve its goals.]
CLEGG: “There were reports of the freedom group helping local residents. Can you give some examples?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, freedom groups and convoy groups helped many residents of Ottawa in many ways including bringing light back to their city. Also, homeless people were fed very well and taken care of well. The people were on the streets in Ottawa. Homeless shelters never had so much food because donated food was at an abundance.”
CLEGG: “What exactly happened the day of the arrest? Were you protesting at the time?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “The day of the arrest I had been up all day and night the previous day pushing against the police and paid thugs. I went back into Quebec, got four hours sleep, and went back to Wellington Street. I never made it all the way to Wellington Street because the police officers were watching my live and caught in my friend’s truck.”
CLEGG: “What exactly were all the charges you faced?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Charges ranged from conspiracy to commit mischief to commit mischief to common mischief, 10 charges in total.”
CLEGG: “You obviously knew from Day 1 you were going to fight the charges. Why?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “I didn’t know from the start [I’d be] fighting the charges because mischief is just a misdemeanour. You shouldn’t spend more than a couple days in jail for your first mischief charge. Things change, though, and I decided to plead out to one mischief charge. I did this because if I would get out on bail [and] they would be watching me and trying to see if I breached my bail conditions. By pleading out to one mischief charge, I was released after 116 days in jail and have the condition of keeping the peace for six months. Also, I can use all social media and travel freely and speak to who I want.”
CLEGG: “Who is ‘they’ watching you? Police or government? Both?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Both!”
CLEGG: “How long were you prepared to stay in jail before a deal was reached to plead to the lesser charge and have all but one charge withdrawn?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “I was willing to spend 4.5 months in jail because they wanted six months at 1.5 days per one day in jail so that works out to 4.5 months. I was just short of four months.”
CLEGG: “Are you 100 per cent happy with the deal?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, I believe the point was made. I’m 100 per cent happy with my deal as I can travel and speak to who I please.”
CLEGG: “You did plead guilty to one charge. Did you feel your point was made in accepting the deal?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, I think the point was made because mandates started dropping as we were in Ottawa and got the masks off the kids.”
CLEGG: “During sentencing, Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger said, ‘You believe in something, it starts off a peaceful protest and it gets out of control.’ Do you have a response to that?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, the judge was exactly right saying it was a peaceful protest gone bad. The reason I say that is because it was exactly peaceful and beautiful and healing until the government and paid thugs turned it violent.”
CLEGG: “You have children. What did you tell them when you got home?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “I have three children and I told them when I got home that I love them and I got to hug them all very tight.”
CLEGG: “Did you have a chance to contact them while in jail?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, I had a chance to contact my family while I was in jail most of the time.”
CLEGG: “How did authorities treat you in jail? I heard a rumour you were treated like a hero. Was this by other prisoners and/or staff?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, for the most part authorities and inmates treated me well inside because they believed in what we were doing. I had corrections officers come shake my hand, I had nurses thank me and most of the inmates liked me. Also got lot of support from the mail.”
CLEGG: “What happens now moving forward? You talked about needing time to help. Please explain.”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Moving forward I need to spend a lot of time at home getting my own stuff in order and healing mentally, physically and emotionally.”
CLEGG: “How important is it for Canadians to fight for what they believe? It is a fundamental right in a democratic society.”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “I believe we need to fight for what we believe in all the time. I believe we need to fight for democracy in our country. I believe we need to make sure there is a future for the children in this world.”
CLEGG: “What do you think your children have learned from all this?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “My children have learned about government overreach, about lying mainstream media about the real problems in the world besides COVID, they have also learned respect and honour and loyalty to their country.”
CLEGG: “Would you do it again? What would you change?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, I would do it again. The only thing I would change is doing it in warmer weather so the population could join us in Ottawa and fight for our children and the future of our country.”
CLEGG: “You are viewed by a hero by many for standing up for your rights and against government. How do you view yourself? As an ordinary citizen standing up for what he believes in?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “Yes, I am viewed as a hero but we are all heroes. Anyone who is standing up against the tyranny around the world is a hero. I also know that I am not in charge, God is in charge, and some of us have bigger parts than others and His plans for this world. I’m just an ordinary man saying what you’re thinking and trying to unite our nation.”
CLEGG: “In the end, was it worth it?”
FREEDOM GEORGE: “In the end it was so worth it. What the Freedom Convoy 2022 accomplished not only in Canada but across the world will forever go down in history. For me and my friend, Pat King, we said to each other on the way [to Ottawa] that we were not leaving until the mask mandates were dropped so our kids could have a mask-free grad. We also looked at each other and said we might go to jail for this which we were OK with. We did not expect the overreach of the government and the corrupt justice system to incarcerate us for such a long period of time for such a small crime so our kids could have a mask-free grad. If I had to do it again to get the masks off the kids to protect their little souls I would do it in a heartbeat.”