A pastor in Alberta, Canada, Reverend Artur Pawlowski, gained national and international attention for throwing provincial officials out of his parish. Now, the authorities want to see him on the warrant list.
According to Dailywire (DW), a copy of the court order acquired by Rebel News authorizes police and health officials to "to use such reasonable force as they deem appropriate" to gain entry to Pastor Artur Pawlowski's The Fortress (Cave) of Adullam church in Calgary.
In addition, the warrant released on April 23 - and which was not sent to his counsel until this week -states that if he interferes with the police, he would be arrested and brought before a court and treated as a prisoner. The Alberta Health Services (AHS) was identified as the filing team.
The warrant reads as follows: "The Respondent, Artur Pawlowski, together with any other person at the property ... shall grant access to any Executive Officer (as defined in the [Alberta Public Health Act]) in order for him or her to attend at the Property without notice, during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., to allow the Executive Officer to exercise his or her powers under [section] 59 of the Act."
The warrant further states: "In the event the Respondent, Artur Pawlowski or any other person refuse to grant any Executive Officer access to the Premises or hinders or interferes with the Executive Officer in the exercise of his or her powers, then any member of Police Service ... shall be permitted to accompany and assist the Executive Officer and use such reasonable force as they consider appropriate to gain access to the Premises and allow the Executive Officer (or anyone assisting the Executive Officer) to exercise his or her powers pursuant to section 59 of the Act."
The warrant continues by stating that if law enforcement has any "reasonable grounds" to believe Pawlowski or someone else has violated the court order, they are authorized to immediately "arrest that person, restrain him or her, and bring him or her before a Justice of the Court of the Queen's Bench to show cause why he or she should not be held in contempt of Court."
Alternatively, a person shall not be detained unless and unless they are granted an opportunity to comply with the warrant.
Brief Background
The pastor first expelled all the state representatives on Good Friday. Last Saturday, they returned to Adullam. As health authorities and police tried to issue him the warrant to enter his church, Pawlowski demanded that they meet with his lawyer.
At present, Pawlowski is urging citizens to assist him in his court fight against Alberta.
"They want me in jail, they want to arrest us only because we dare to worship our God and we want to do it in peace," he said. "They're coming very heavy. They're bringing documents, they're bringing SWAT team, they're bringing health inspectors, police officers and bylaw officers."
The Polish pastor, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain under communist Soviet rule, suspects a growing pattern of governmental control masked as public health care orders.
DW states that if Pawlowski gets imprisoned, he would not be the first pastor imprisoned in Alberta for 'breaking' the Alberta Public Health Act. Pastor James Coates, pastor of GraceLife Church in the Edmonton district, was detained in February and imprisoned in a maximum security prison for holding a worship service, and had to stay in jail for more than a month for refusing to stop preaching.
