CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) –– A judge has acquitted a Canadian Protestant pastor of criminal charges he incurred for protesting a “drag queen story time” event for children at a public library.
Judge Allan Fradsham ruled Tuesday that Derek Reimer, pastor of Mission 7 Ministries, is not guilty of a criminal offense for protesting a pro-LGBT “drag” event marketed to kids called “Reading with Royalty” that took place at the Seton Public Library in Calgary in February 2023.
“I was obedient to God in protecting children and exposing darkness,” Remier told LifeSiteNews about what motivated him to protest the scandalous event. “I will continue to have a voice and speak the truth in Jesus’ name.”
In his ruling, a copy of which was given to LifeSiteNews, Fradsham still characterized Reimer’s protest against the pro-LGBT display directed to kids as “disrespectful” and “inconsiderate,” but concluded that “not all actions” of this nature “are criminal.”
For protesting at the February 2023 event, Reimer was charged with causing a disturbance and mischief. The incident drew international attention after he was forcibly removed from the library for protesting the event and pointing out that homosexual acts are sinful.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Reimer doubled down on his innocence of any criminal wrongdoing, sharing the Bible passage 2 Timothy 3:11: “Persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra – what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.”
An ‘important exoneration’
Reimer’s lawyer Andrew MacKenzie spoke with LifeSiteNews and noted that he is pleased with the ruling, and that his client’s “acquittal does expose what was leveled against him” in terms of his protests.
In a statement to the media, MacKenzie said that Tuesday’s acquittal “is an important exoneration.”
“Pastor Reimer has been zealously prosecuted over the past two years for peacefully protesting drag events for children. Today, the trial judge found that the witnesses against him were contradictory and biased, giving testimony ‘bespeak[ing] an animus towards Mr. Reimer,’” he noted.
“Because of the Crown’s decision to prosecute him on that evidence, Pastor Reimer was held in jail for 43 days. The Crown then stacked charges against him in the following months. He was effectively banned from peacefully protesting drag events since this charge came down in March of last year.”
MacKenzie noted that while “nothing can give” Reimer “back” the time he spent in jail, there is “some vindication from the thorough and thoughtful decision published by the Alberta Courts.”
“There have been concerns that a guilty verdict could set a precedent effectively criminalizing certain forms of protest. This decision affirms the existing common-sense precedent that Pastor Reimer should be allowed to legally protest.”
MacKenzie said that Reimer is “thankful for the opportunity to have his day in court,” along with the acquittal, and that this “legal battle inspired such a groundswell of support from concerned Canadians. His fight is not over but today’s result was an unmitigated vindication.”
While Reimer’s charges from the February 2023 incident have been dropped, he is still facing sentencing for other acts of protests against “drag queen story hours,” for which he has been found guilty of “criminal harassment.” He was also found guilty of breaching his bail conditions, which ban him from protesting at any LGBT-themed event. Sentencing will occur on November 28.
Reimer is also waiting for a decision in relation to charges of trespassing and violating bail conditions for protesting at Calgary’s Signal Hill Library on March 15, 2023. A decision for these charges will be coming on October 7.
He faces the possibility of being fined $10,000 for each charge or 6 months in jail.
As reported by LifeSiteNews earlier this year, trespassing charges against Reimer for praying in a municipal building were dismissed.
He has been arrested many times for protesting “drag queen story time” and other pro-LGBT events in his city.
Reimer has also been the target of harassment for protesting these events. Last April, his van was vandalized with an anti-Christian message as well as a satanic symbol while he was in jail following yet another arrest related to his pro-family activism.
Last year, Calgary passed a new “Safe and Inclusive Access Bylaw” that disallows “specified protests” both inside and outside all city-owned and affiliated public buildings.
The bylaw means that anyone protesting pro-LGBT events at public buildings will be barred from getting within 100 meters of any such location.