{"id":405226,"date":"2021-04-09T21:58:30","date_gmt":"2021-04-10T01:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=405226"},"modified":"2021-04-09T21:58:33","modified_gmt":"2021-04-10T01:58:33","slug":"exclusive-pastor-and-lawyer-defiant-after-canadian-police-raid-barricade-church-at-dawn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-pastor-and-lawyer-defiant-after-canadian-police-raid-barricade-church-at-dawn\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Pastor And Lawyer Defiant After Canadian Police Raid, Barricade Church At Dawn"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-pastor-and-lawyer-defiant-after-canadian-police-raid-barricade-church-at-dawn%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=405226&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-1221.jpeg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The pastor and legal counsel for&nbsp;the church in Alberta, Canada, whose building was raided and physically barricaded by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Wednesday remain defiant as provincial authorities clamp down in the name of COVID-19 precautions.<\/p>\n<p>John Carpay, who is president of the Calgary-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jccf.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms<\/a>, spoke to The Daily Wire on Friday about his client\u2019s case against the Albertan authorities, which he presented as a fight for the \u201cfundamental rights and freedoms\u201d of the Western world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cCourage To Actually Suffer\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At approximately 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday, RCMP and private security contractors erected a chain link fence around the building of GraceLife Church, which is about 15 miles southwest of Edmonton. A police checkpoint assembled to prevent congregants from going on the property.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"11.579831932773\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I count thirteen vehicles as part of this police raid on a church. They\u2019re erecting steel fences around it. Like China does when they uncover an illegal \u201chouse church\u201d. Except this is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The same church whose pastor was thrown in prison for 35 days. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qJlnHHGGdV\">pic.twitter.com\/qJlnHHGGdV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ezra Levant \ud83c\udf41 (@ezralevant) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ezralevant\/status\/1379804106324389899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>GraceLife Church first made international headlines in February when its pastor, James Coates, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/canadian-pastor-held-in-solitary-confinement-after-defying-covid-19-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">arrested<\/a> and jailed for more than a month after holding church services in defiance of Alberta\u2019s Public Health Order, which limited congregations to 15% capacity.<\/p>\n<p>The RCMP repeatedly flagged GraceLife for not abiding by the order and later slapped the church with more charges when they continued to hold services during their pastor\u2019s imprisonment.<\/p>\n<p>Coates was taken to Edmonton\u2019s maximum security Remand Centre for breaching the public health orders, where he said fellow prisoners were aware of his situation and came to him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/it-was-precious-to-me-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-holding-church-services-recounts-touching-moment-he-was-freed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">seeking spiritual advice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce I got into [general population], I would have guys often come to my door and want to speak with me and would share difficulties in their life with me, and I would share the gospel with them,\u201d Coates told Rebel News. \u201cWe\u2019d be talking through a door to each other, but I would share the gospel with them. That happened often, where guys would just come to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Coates said the inmates cheered for him as he was freed.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH:<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Pastor James Coates sits down with Rebel for first interview after release from jail\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dplkJiPmwOo?start=492&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Appearing before provincial court Judge Jeffrey Champion&nbsp;in an orange-and-black jumpsuit, Coates&nbsp;emphasized during his court appearance that he had no intention of being \u201ca political revolutionary\u201d and that he was simply trying to obey Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI realized that\u2019s the way society is going to perceive what\u2019s happening here,\u201d Coates said. \u201c[But] I\u2019m simply here in obedience to Jesus Christ, and it\u2019s my obedience to Christ that has put me at odds with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Coates, Carpay said, \u201cIt\u2019s a small minority of people that have this level of courage to actually suffer for their beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFreedom of conscience and religion is the first fundamental freedom listed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is listed first because it is one of the key bedrock principles on which Canada is built,\u201d Carpay wrote in a press release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government has so far refused to justify the limits on worship and gathering. Health orders are inconsistent, differing from province to province, and arbitrarily created by one public health official who is under no obligation legally to advise the legislatures of the science and rationale which supposedly are the basis of the orders,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The Alberta government is now seeking to delay Coates\u2019 scheduled May 3 trial, to which Carpay <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jccf.ca\/alberta-government-seeks-to-delay-may-3-trial-of-pastor-coates-and-barricades-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">responded<\/a> with outrage:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"11\">\n<p><em>We are now in our thirteenth month of Charter-violating lockdowns, in what was supposed to be a temporary two-week measure to flatten the curve. The government has had thirteen months to put together a scientific and medical basis to justify its violations of our fundamental Charter freedoms. By May 3, the government will have had fourteen months to assemble proper medical and scientific evidence to justify lockdowns. For the Alberta Government to request an adjournment of the May 3 trial of Pastor Coates is outrageous, while at the same time entering onto the church\u2019s private property and putting up fencing with hired security.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe Have Embarrassed Them Richly\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During a <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/eY7CMPh78MA?t=4012\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recent interview<\/a> with radio host Gabriel Rench, who was himself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/idaho-churchgoers-sue-police-city-government-after-being-arrested-for-not-wearing-masks-outside\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">arrested<\/a> in Moscow, Idaho, last fall for participating in an outdoor psalm sing without a mask, Coates said the overreach of Alberta\u2019s government against his church has actually induced \u201ca little bit of excitement\u201d in him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are going toe-to-toe with the Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that typically does not go well. It certainly will not go well in the end. But even now, they are taking on a fight that is way beyond them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that we have demonstrated clearly that the threat to Alberta is not COVID-19, it is AHS [Alberta Health Services],\u201d he later added. \u201cWe have demonstrated that the real threat to Albertans are the lockdown measures. We have shown them to be weak and incompetent. And the fact that they\u2019ve had to close down our facility is ultimately for the purpose of ending the embarrassment. We have met for 37 Sundays without a single COVID-19 case, let alone an outbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd so AHS is weak and incompetent, and I think we have embarrassed them richly,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding whether Coates and GraceLife Church are being singled out by the government for especially harsh treatment, Carpay said it was \u201cinteresting\u201d to him that some Alberta restaurant owners recently escaped imprisonment despite being cited for remaining open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the government was particularly offended by a non-compliant church, more so than non-compliant businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I guess you could say that is singling out, because there are other places that did not comply and they got tickets, but otherwise the owner was not put in jail as Pastor Coates was for a month and six days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carpay highlighted an extensive statement on GraceLife\u2019s Church\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/gracelife.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a> explaining why they had chosen not to abide by the provincial health order. The statement says in part:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"16\">\n<p><em>Having engaged in an immense amount of research, interacting with both doctors and frontline healthcare workers, it is apparent that the negative effects of the government lockdown measures on society far surpass the effects of COVID-19. The science being used to justify lockdown measures is both suspect and selective. In fact, there is no empirical evidence that lockdowns are effective in mitigating the spread of the virus. We are gravely concerned that COVID-19 is being used to fundamentally alter society and strip us all of our civil liberties. By the time the so-called \u201cpandemic\u201d is over, if it is ever permitted to be over, Albertans will be utterly reliant on government, instead of free, prosperous, and independent.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI suspect the government doesn\u2019t like people using logic and facts to debunk the government\u2019s narrative,\u201d Carpay said. \u201cSo I think that could be part of the dynamic.\u201d He noted Coates was arrested just a few days after the church posted that statement on their website.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking recently with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who described Coates\u2019 situation as \u201cobvious tyranny,\u201d James\u2019 wife Erin lamented that&nbsp;she no longer recognizes her native Canada, where she claims rights have been stripped from citizens so gradually that it no longer bothers most of them. Unwilling to claim outright that government authorities were targeting her husband for his religion, she noted&nbsp;that spiritual forces of evil often work through them.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH:<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wife of pastor jailed for preaching speaks out on &#039;Tucker Carlson Tonight&#039;\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0ywfs4rQipQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI See A Repetition Of History\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In addition to the Coates case, Alberta made international headlines earlier this week when video went viral of Pastor&nbsp;Artur Pawlowski forcefully ejecting police from his church during a Good Friday service. Pawlowski, who grew up in Poland behind the Iron Curtain, warned that such tactics reminded him of how the Communists behaved toward houses of worship in eastern Europe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI grew up in Poland under the boot of the Soviets, behind the Iron Curtain,\u201d the pastor <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/06\/exclusive-pastor-artur-pawlowski-speaks-out\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> The Daily Caller. \u201cWhat I see right now, I see everything escalating and moving to the new level. They\u2019re acting just like the Communists were acting when I was growing up when the pastors and the priests were arrested, and some were murdered. Many were tortured.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why I say what I say,\u201d Pawlowski added. \u201cBecause I see a repetition of history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>WATCH:<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pastor who stood up to police in viral video speaks out\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uXefE-Z3H6M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Even so, Carpay noted that the restrictions in the Pacific provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia have been less onerous than those in their eastern neighbors. He mentioned a client in Ottawa who was ticketed for playing basketball by himself. Other clients have been cited for walking their dogs outside or for participating in peaceful protests outside. Quebec has an 8 p.m. curfew, he said, after which citizens are not allowed to leave their homes unless they are walking their dogs.<\/p>\n<p>Carpay echoed Pawlowski\u2019s warning that liberty must be fought for if it is to be maintained. \u201cViolations of our fundamental rights and freedoms are going to last for as long as Canadians tolerate them and tolerate the violations and embrace the violations,\u201d he said.&nbsp;\u201cLiberty only lasts so long as it resides in the hearts of people. And if people don\u2019t cherish and appreciate the free society, where we can exercise our freedoms and accept our responsibilities like responsible adults, if people don\u2019t cherish that and fight for it, it will gradually wither and die.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that is true in Canada and the United States and in every country in the world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong>: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/were-not-ready-pastor-andrew-brunson-predicts-worsening-religious-persecution-in-u-s-regardless-of-election-outcome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u2018We\u2019re Not Ready\u2019: Pastor Andrew Brunson Predicts Worsening Religious Persecution In U.S. Regardless Of Election Outcome<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The pastor and legal counsel for\u00a0the church in Alberta, Canada, whose building was raided and physically barricaded by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Wednesday remain defiant as provincial &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311953,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-1221.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"EXCLUSIVE: Pastor And Lawyer Defiant After Canadian Police Raid, Barricade Church At Dawn","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-405226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-1221.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"EXCLUSIVE: Pastor And Lawyer Defiant After Canadian Police Raid, Barricade Church At Dawn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}