CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) – The lawyer for Pastor Artur Pawlowski said it’s “uncertain” why police ended up charging the preacher and his brother for breach of probation under an old court order after the pair were arrested and jailed following a New Year’s Day highway takedown.
Pawlowski’s lawyer, Sarah Miller of JSS Barristers, said the pastor and his brother Dawid were first stopped at a drunk driving check point on New Year’s Day after leaving a protest against mandatory injections and COVID rules held outside Alberta Minister of Health Jason Copping’s house.
“Ultimately, the cops decided they could charge Artur and Dawid with…the breach of Justice Rookes’ order” which was “issued way back in May when we were having the lockdown rodeos and other events being held by Christopher Scott and Whistlestop,” said Miller, as reported by Rebel News.
Miller detailed how upon the brothers’ initial arrest, even the police themselves were “confused” as to what to charge the bothers with.
“So, I mean, there’s a lot of confusion because I think the police were even confused,” said Miller.
The police stop was uncharacteristically set up in a residential area.
“You know, Artur was first stopped for a breathalyzer test; they set up a breathalyzer stop right outside or right down the street from where they had been protesting. Why? I have no idea. They don’t seem to be any indication of any drinking at the protest. Obviously, there [were] no impaired driving charges laid,” said Miller.
According to Miller, police officers first said they were arresting Pawlowski for mischief, then changed the charge to “mischief and trespass.”
“Neither of those charges were laid,” said Miller.
“Ultimately, eventually they said, oh, breach of probation. The charge for a breach of probation was not laid.”
Miller said that even the “police were confused.”
“I think all that confusion then led to Artur being confused and Dawid being confused, as both of them were arrested for all these mixed-up charges,” added Miller.
On May 6, 2021, Associate Chief Justice John Rooke of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench issued a restraining order which forbade citizens from gathering to publicly protest or from encouraging “illegal” COVID protest gatherings.
This order allowed police to arrest, detain, and imprison anyone who disobeyed. However, this order was intended to be directed at Christopher Scott, the owner of Whistle Stop Café in Mirror, Alberta, who earlier defied government health orders and opened for dine-in service.
The May 6 injunction was originally worded in such a way that in theory it could apply to every Albertan, allowing police to arrest anyone who violated COVID-19 rules. However, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) had this order revised on May 13 to only apply to Scott.
According to Miller, for “all intents and purposes, I understood that that order [Rooke’s] because of those provisions that were obtained by the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms, would no longer apply to regular Albertans anymore.”
“Very clearly, the January 1st protest is not under those people’s instructions or in concert with them. There’s a wholly different event seven months later after that order has been issued. And now that’s what the police have arrested him for a breach of justice order,” added Miller.
Miller said that “it’s very uncertain why the police believe that that order is something that they can arrest under.”
“I have no idea what the impetus of this was, we’re working on finding out if Rooke’s order is even in place. You know, there’s certain information I’ve received that it was struck from the court. I’m waiting to hear from the court that will take a few weeks, but I’m waiting to hear from the court if it was indeed struck,” she added.
Miller said that this charge against Pawlowski and Dawid “has to go away.”
“But in the meantime, they’re facing now criminal charges for holding a protest outdoors without a mask,” she said.
Artur’s son Nathaniel said in an interview with Rebel News that the protest was peaceful and lasted about an hour. He observed no one trespassing on Copping’s property and said that after this, they drove home and were pulled over by police.
Nathaniel filmed video of the Pawlowski brothers’ arrest on January 1. It was first posted online by Rebel News.
In his interview with Rebel News, Nathaniel said that on New Year’s Day both his dad and uncle had earlier in the day held a church service at their Calgary Cave of Adullam church. After this service, they all decided to attend a protest at the house of Copping.
Both Pawlowski and his brother have been critical of the Alberta governments’ COVID rules along with the jabs for over a year now.
In November, Justice Jo’Anne Strekaf of the Alberta Court of Appeal tossed an extreme sentence handed to Pawlowski and his brother by Alberta Justice Adam Germain in October. Strekaf also stayed a travel ban imposed on the brothers.
Germain’s order had mandated that the Pawlowski brothers use official government language regarding the virus each time they challenged government rules in public.
In the spring 2021, Pawlowski, who is a Polish immigrant, made international headlines for calling police and health inspectors making two unannounced health visits to his church “Gestapo Nazis.”
Pawlowski and his brother were arrested in their first highway takedown in May 2021 for holding worship services at their Calgary church amid COVID lockdowns.
The Pawlowski brothers then served three nights in jail before being released on bail.
In July 2021, Alberta Health Services (AHS) asked the court for a 21-day jail sentence against Pawlowski, claiming he “openly” flaunted COVID rules.