Calgary Pastor Derek Reimer Jailed for Easter Weekend on Hate-Related Charges

Pastor Derek Reimer, who leads the Mission Seven Ministries in Calgary, has been arrested and jailed for the third time in five weeks on charges related to his protests against drag shows at municipally funded libraries. Reimer was arrested on the eighth-related charges, including hate-related ones, and will spend the Easter weekend behind bars. His recent arrest was for protesting within 160 meters of a drag event, a good-faith attempt to comply with his conditions. Despite a past involvement with violence, he was passive and did not react in the face of violence committed against him.

Sheila Gunn Reid was covering the latest bail hearings for Pastor Derek live as they happened. In an interview with Reimer's lawyer, Ben Allison, the lawyer explained that the court was asking about the plan and scheduling a bail hearing date.

Will be speaking with lawyer Ben Allison after court for more details, so stay tuned. In the interim, might I suggest you catch yourself up at https://t.co/ibrdfyDebn

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 6, 2023

However, the lawyer is not currently seeking to schedule a bail hearing date and is pursuing other avenues. Allison explained that he has not seen the information and is not comfortable saying what the eight new charges are, but some of them are hate-related. He also mentioned that if a person is sentenced for any criminal act, one of the factors that a court can consider is whether or not the action was motivated by hate, which would be considered an aggravating factor.

Despite being arrested multiple times, Reimer continues to fight against the sexualization of minor children at city-owned and city-managed facilities. His organization, Mission Seven Ministries, works with the homeless and vulnerable in Calgary's downtown core.

People who want to learn more about Reimer's charges and contribute to his legal fees can visit SavePastorDerek.com.