Free at last! Pastor Artur won't be jailed for his sermon at the Coutts Blockade
Pastor Artur is a free man! I was in a Lethbridge courtroom this morning where Pastor Artur received his sentence for a 17-minute sermon he gave to the truckers at the Coutts Blockade.
A mob of supporters gathered outside the courtroom in solidarity to cheer on Pastor Artur, who’s been a thorn in the side of Alberta’s medical establishment since the first COVID restrictions came into effect. You may remember Pastor Artur as our first Fight The Fines case, and whose prominence in the public eye grew with each arrest for his courageous defiance against the spread of COVID tyranny.
In the end, the judge handed Pastor Artur a 60-day sentence. He condemned the “tone” of his sermon, claiming it incited others to commit mischief and is why his punishment had to include prison time.
But Pastor Artur was credited with 78 days for time served in pre-trial custody, meaning he won’t have to spend any more time inside a prison cell. However, a criminal record is now attached to his name — it’s deeply troubling that anyone in Canada could be legally persecuted in such a way for peacefully protesting our government.
It was clear from the outset that the prosecutor, Steven Johnston, seemed to have a personal vendetta against Pastor Artur. He took issue with Pastor Artur referring to prosecutors as “Gestapo” and “evil” — he wanted to bury him in prison for 8-10 months for his sermon.
Although he now has his freedom, the fight is not over.
Pastor Artur’s lawyers have already started to appeal his conviction. (If you’re willing and able to help, you can donate towards his mounting legal fees by going to SaveArtur.com).
His legal team, led by the amazing Sarah Miller, has done an incredible job defending Pastor Artur and is one of the main reasons he’s a free man today.
This is a win for religious liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of association.
We’ll have more to come on this story in the days ahead, but for now, we can celebrate this victory, and hopefully, one of many more to come.
Ezra Levant
Rebel Commander
Ezra Levant is the founder and owner of Rebel News and the host of The Ezra Levant Show. He is the author of multiple best-selling books including Ethical Oil and most recently, China Virus.