Criminal charges against Calgary pastor dropped: Interview with Pastor Tim Stephens

Pastor Tim Stephens was one of Alberta’s high-profile arrests which resulted from the often arbitrary and clearly selectively enforced COVID-19 measures, which along with a litany of additional charges and fines also saw Pastor Artur Pawlowski, Pastor James Coates and others arrested or fined.

You may recall that Pastor Tim Stephens was arrested outside his church under the Rooke Order, which sought to limit gatherings and protests. He was released two days later as the courts failed to serve him notice of the order before arresting him, as they had served someone else believing them to be Pastor Tim Stephens. We spoke to Pastor Tim after he was released following this initial arrest.

Following that botched arrest and the locking-up of their church building, but unwilling to compromise in their commitment to worship, Stephens and his congregation took their church community underground, gathering at undisclosed locations to worship in peace.

Following an extensive surveillance campaign by Calgary Police, Pastor Tim was once again arrested after being properly served the Rooke order, this time at home in front of his family, and he spent two weeks behind bars prior to his release.

With court set to commence this week, late Monday afternoon after extensive negotiations criminal charges against Pastor Tim Stephens were dropped despite his refusal to strike a deal with the prosecution. Pastor Tim will still have to face some court matters relating to tickets and infractions, but the more serious charges being dropped is certainly a prayer answered for the Stephens family.

Rebel News joined Pastor Tim to discuss the welcome news and to ask what is on the horizon for him and his congregation. We also talked about the prospect of positive change on the horizon with the government seemingly beginning to back off on some of these abusive COVID-19 charges in addition to exploring the increasing anti-Christian sentiment in Canada, particularly under Justin Trudeau.

While the criminal charges against Pastor Tim Stephens have been thrown out, Pastor Artur Pawlowski who was released under strict bail conditions after 51 days of incarceration is still in for the legal fight of his life. You can chip in to his legal battles through The Democracy Fund and receive a tax receipt by donating at SaveArtur.com.