Canadian Pastor Artur Pawlowski who was arrested several times by authorities for defying COVID restrictions in Canada was again taken by the police before he could give a speech at the Freedom Convoy, the protest held by Canadian truckers and those that opposed COVID restrictions in Canada.
Pawlowski is a preacher at the Cave of Adullam Church and Street Church in Calgary, Alberta, who was arrested on Tuesday at his home before he could leave for the Freedom Convoy to address the crowd in Milk River, Alberta.
According to the Christian Post, Pawlowski became a popular figure amongst conservatives and those who opposed COVID mandates in Canada and the U.S. after he repeatedly violated restrictions and spoke out against the Canadian government for such restrictive rules. He has also been arrested multiple times over the past year for defying COVID restrictions and holding in person church services. Pawlowski was also once arrested for protesting outside the home of Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping.
Footage of Pawlowski's arrests have gone viral online after it showed him having heated exchanges with Canadian authorities who enforced COVID restrictions. He often called them "Nazis" and "Gestapo." A video of his latest arrest on Tuesday has been posted on the pastor's YouTube channel.
Canadian law enforcement told Pawlowski that he was under arrest for "mischief" but he refused to cooperate with them. The officer remarked that the pastor refused to "just stand up" and decided to "go dead fish" or be unresponsive before he was carried away to the police car. While Pawlowski refused to speak throughout the video, his brother Dawid, who also was previously arrested by the police, repeatedly called the police "Nazis" and "criminals" then asked the officers to treat his brother "with respect."
Pastor Pawlowski told the Canadian police officers, "I do not cooperate with Nazis."
Rebel News' Ezra Levant, who has supported Pawlowski throughout his ongoing legal battles with Canadian authorities relayed information he got from Pawlowski's son, Nathaniel. He elaborated, "There was an undercover police van staked out surveilling the family home."
"They grabbed...Artur Pawlowski, arrested him and took him off to jail," Levant said, adding that the officers were "stopping [Pawlowski] from going to speak to the trucker blockade down in Coutts, Alberta."
Levant accused the Calgary police of "literally arresting a Christian pastor who was planning on speaking to a peaceful protest," saying it was the latest example of how "this is not the Canada that you thought that you were in." He concluded that the country had turned into an "authoritarian Canada that's verging on a police state."
The Gateway Pundit reported how Pawlowski's supporters were also calling the police "Nazis" as they arrested the pastor. A supporter told the police as they carried Pawlowski away, "You guys sold your soul to the devil. How brutal you people are. Shame on you!"
Rebel News is now hosting a fundraising campaign for Pawlowski, asking supporters to donate to "help pay the legal fees of Pastor Artur." Proceeds will go to the Democracy Fund, "a registered Canadian charity that is now helping the 'Fight The Fines' project."
