Police Ambush Pastor at Airport
The Canadian police are at it again. Pastor Artur Pawlowski, who, along with his brother, Dawid, who were arrested in May for organizing church services that challenged rules on masking and physical distancing, was taken into custody Monday on the tarmac at the Calgary International Airport and charged with contempt of court for an alleged offense on June 5.
Pawlowski’s attorney, Sarah Miller, confirmed his arrest as did the Calgary Police Service’s duty inspector, but the latter did not know what Pawlowski was arrested for. Pawlowski was flying back into Canada after a four-month trip to the United States where he spoke with several members of the conservative media.
In June, the Pawlowski brothers were found guilty of contempt after allegedly violating COVID-19 health orders. Globalnews.ca reports that, at a sentencing hearing earlier this month, “Alberta Health Services asked that Pawlowski be jailed for 21 days and that his brother be sentenced to 10 days. The court was asked to fine Artur $2,000 and impose $15,000 in costs.”
A decision on the matter is expected on Oct. 13.
In an email, Canadian media personality, political activist and broadcaster Ezra Levant, however, says Artur Pawlowski was voluntarily returning to Alberta to face the wrath of the government. But since the hearing is not for another two weeks, Artur is legally a “free man.”
“So why did the police arrest him again, in another SWAT-style raid?” Levant asked. “He’s not a flight risk—he was literally flying back to Canada to face his fate. … This is shocking. It’s terrible proof that Albert is becoming a police state, much in the same way Australia is.”
Levant says that Alberta, Canada, remains the only jurisdiction in the free world to jail Christian pastors for the “crime” of opening their churches during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Levant says “this is a deep shame to the province and to any police who claim they’re merely ‘following order’ to do its dirty work. This lawless arrest shows things are even worse than we thought.” {eoa}
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