The persecution of Christians in Canada is accelerating, as authorities in Calgary, Alberta, in a dramatic highway takedown, have arrested a second pastor for defying COVID restrictions by opening his church.
Polish-Canadian Pastor Artur Pawlowski, and his brother Dawid Pawlowski, were apprehended by a swarm of armed, masked police on a busy highway on Saturday after the pastor refused to comply with a government-mandated health order to keep his services at reduced capacity and enforce social distancing and mask-wearing.
Pawlowski reportedly held church services as usual on Saturday, ignoring threats of arrest if he flouted the COVID rules. On his way home, he was pulled over on the freeway, surrounded by five police vehicles, and taken into custody.
Rebel News reporter Ezra Levant tweeted that Pawlowski is “charged with ‘inciting’ people to go to church.”
In a statement issued by the Calgary Police Service, the Pawlowskis were charged with “organizing an illegal in-person gathering,” as well as “requesting, inciting or inviting others” to join them, CBC News reported. The Pawlowskis are allegedly found to be in violation of a Court of Queen’s Bench Order applied to gatherings such as protests, demonstrations, and rallies, which apparently extend to church services.
Prior to the pastor’s aggressive arrest — it appears he refused to get up and walk, so the police dragged him by his arms across the asphalt, as if he were a terrorist or a mass murderer — parishioners of Street Church allegedly expelled the police from the sanctuary during services, expecting them to “return in full force.” Rebel News’ Adam Soos posted a video (below) of the incident on Twitter.
Pawlowski is the second Christian pastor to be imprisoned in Alberta, once considered the “freest” province in Canada, wrote Soos. The first was Pastor James Coates, of GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove, near Edmonton. Coates, unlike Pawlowski, turned himself in to authorities and spent 35 days in a maximum-security jail after he refused to comply with a health order issued by Alberta Health Services (AHS), requiring him to turn away parishioners and maintain the required reduced church capacity. Coates’s trial began on May 3.
According to the news site ChurchLeaders, “Up to 1,000 people are permitted to listen to the trial online, but there will be no video streaming of the proceedings. One of the likely reasons why is that the public health prosecutor was granted permission not to reveal her identity after she expressed concerns about security.”
Soos, breaking the news of Pawlowski’s arrest, exclaimed, “This is something they do in Communist China, and it’s happened twice here in Canada…. Wal-Mart and Costco are open across Canada, so are liquor stores and marijuana stores. But a Christian pastor cannot open his doors without a massive police raid.”
Pawlowski, who escaped Communist Poland, has been very outspoken in his warnings against “encroaching Communism” in the West, as governments tighten their grips on communities in the name of health and safety. He has openly protested against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s authoritarian government, holding weekly Gospel readings on the steps of Calgary’s City Hall, as he stands bravely for the liberty to worship freely.
Pawlowski’s Other Crimes Include Feeding the Homeless
A fighter with zero tolerance for government tyranny in a free nation, having seen the atrocities of communism and fascism with his own eyes, the leader of Street Church has been serving the most vulnerable in his Calgary community for more than 21 years.
As reported by the National Telegraph, “the Polish immigrant and Christian Pastor has touched many lives but has also received over 150 fines from the city, been arrested 10 times and the city of Calgary has spent over $2 million to prosecute him. His offense? Feeding the homeless.”
“I can’t recognize my beloved Canada…. In the letter I am being warned not to feed the poor,” said Pawlowski in an interview.
Canadian authorities attempted to enter Pawlowski’s church on two separate occasions prior to his arrest on Saturday. On April 3, in a powerful video that went viral online, Pawlowski can be heard repeatedly yelling at the police, demanding they “get out immediately!”
On Saturday, April 24, a group of armed police officers and a public health inspector returned to the church to deliver a court order allegedly permitting them to enter the sanctuary and stand at the back “to observe.”
Both times, as captured on video, the pastor was not to be intimidated and demanded the “Gestapo” leave his church and not come back.
“They want to enslave us all like the Egyptians,” said Pawlowski. “They want to be Pharaohs of today. People, if you will not wake up, stand up, I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow if Canadians do not rise up. Look what is happening in Germany…. You can’t even leave from one city to the other. Is that the future you want? Is that the future you want for your children and your grandchildren?”
“Friends, you have to join the fight…. We have rallies every week…. We need to file lawsuits against their craziness right now while we still have that window of opportunity. Because if we don’t do it now, I don’t think we are going to have tomorrow. Our rights are being taken away from us so quickly, it’s unbelievable.”
Pawlowski’s lawyers are actively working to get the pastor released. The New American will continue to follow the story and provide updates. Additionally, Rebel News is facilitating assistance for Pawlowski through the Democracy Fund, a registered Canadian charity. Consider sending support to Pastor Pawlowski at www.SaveArtur.com.
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