A Canadian pastor and his brother were arrested over the weekend for violating local coronavirus-related restrictions, The Daily Wire reported.
Video footage shows brothers Artur and Dawid Pawlowski being removed from their vehicles while driving home from a church event and forced to lie on a wet roadway as Calgary Police handcuffed them and shoved them into the back of a van.
“You are Nazis!” Artur Pawlowski could be heard yelling at the arresting officers, according to The Daily Wire. “You are Nazis! You Gestapo psychopaths! Gestapo psychopaths you are! Gestapo!”
Pastor arrested
Rebel News’ Ezra Levant described the group of officers as “a heavily-armed SWAT team,” and said Artur Pawlowski was “the second pastor jailed this year.”
Supporters are soliciting donations for the pastor’s legal fees.
A heavily-armed SWAT team just took down a Christian pastor heading home from church. Police say he’s charged with “inciting” people to go to church. This is the second pastor jailed this year. We’re crowdfunding his lawyers at https://t.co/bMwAj1iNfP pic.twitter.com/RZ913cQns3
— Ezra Levant
(@ezralevant) May 8, 2021
The arrest comes on the heels of an incident Thursday in which police showed up at Pawlowski’s church in an unsuccessful attempt to take him into custody, as The Daily Wire noted.
Police urge compliance
Calgary Police (CPS) said in a statement that they’d “obtained a Court of Queen’s Bench Order” on Thursday “that applies to gatherings including protests, demonstrations, and rallies.”
“Earlier this morning, CPS lawfully enforced this order by proactively serving an organizer of a church service with the court order in an effort to ensure that citizens attending the Saturday service were abiding by the current COVID-19 public health orders,” the statement added, according to The Daily Wire.
It went on: “The service organizer acknowledged the injunction, but chose to ignore requirements for social distancing, mask-wearing, and reduced capacity limits for attendees, and continued with the event.”
“As a result,” police said, “Artur Pawlowski and Dawid Pawlowski have both been arrested and charged with organizing an illegal in-person gathering, including requesting, inciting, or inviting others to attend an illegal public gathering, promoting, and attending an illegal public gathering.”
Police concluded that amid “a global pandemic,” it’s important to “comply with public health orders in order to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing.”
The post Canadian pastor, brother arrested for allegedly violating local COVID orders first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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