Josh Alexander detained for 'peacefully exercising' Charter rights outside Calgary high school

A gathering of students and Christian advocates turned violent Wednesday after hostile pro-transgender activists allegedly assaulted Josh Alexander, 17, as he walked through a crowd of dozens of students in front of Western Canada High School.

An altercation ensued after a well-known anti-racism advocate, Taylor McNallie, 32, supposedly shoved Alexander repeatedly as several people swarmed him on a public sidewalk.

McNallie and several others appeared to prevent the Ontario student activist from walking through the crowd. Another activist held up a Pride flag as Alexander tried to leave the area directly in front of the high school.

McNallie previously faced an assault charge with a weapon concerning an anti-racism event in Red Deer, Alberta, in September 2020. She received several charges the following August after allegedly striking an off-duty Calgary courthouse employee with a megaphone, among others.

As revealed by exclusive Rebel News footage, Calgary police detained Alexander and escorted him to the back of a police cruiser Wednesday morning. According to his lawyer, James Kitchen, Chief Litigator for the Liberty Coalition of Canada (LCC), police demanded he leave the area.

Also among the protesters was Black Lives Matter Calgary President Adora Nwofor, who appeared to lay her hands on Alexander — but did not get physical with him — during the altercation preceding his detainment. 

Calgary police told Kitchen that if his client remained on the scene, they would charge him with breaching the peace. "Police told me they would arrest Josh and charge him with a criminal offence," he tweeted Wednesday evening.

"While peacefully exercising his Charter rights on public property, he was assaulted," said Kitchen. "Instead of restraining those committing criminal offences, Calgary police seized Josh and demanded he leave the area."

"Believing this threat to be unlawful, Josh Alexander and I decided he would continue. He did, without further police interference," said the LCC Chief Litigator. Kitchen added that he and his client would "resolutely resist tyrants and the selective policing they rely on."

"Today I was handcuffed and put in a paddy wagon for offering students Bibles on a public sidewalk in Calgary," tweeted Alexander following his controversial detainment. "I continued handing out bibles, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ."

Pro-transgender protesters proceeded to burn and rip copies of the Bible in front of the Christian advocate, despite a province-wide fire ban in effect. 

"That's not cool. That's not very nice," said Alexander about their efforts to dismember several copies of the Bible.

"It's kind of sick as f*ck," said one of the students while lighting a copy of the Bible on fire. He immediately blew out the flames when told a province-wide fire ban remained in full effect and proceeded to rip copies alongside several students.

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