CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) – Police showed up at the home of Calgary Christian Pastor Derek Reimer this morning to tell him he would soon be arrested and charged because he protested a children’s drag queen story time at a public library over the weekend, saying “homosexuality is a sin.”
LifeSiteNews confirmed with Reimer today that police came to his house and told him his arrest was imminent, but officers left and did not take him into custody.
A video posted online this morning shows a member of the Calgary Police Service showing up at Reimer’s house.
An officer told Reimer that he will be arrested and charged due to him protesting a kids drag queen story time event held at the Seton Calgary public library this past Saturday.
“Can we talk about what happened on the weekend,” the officer said to Reimer.
Reimer replied, “Why are you showing up at my home?”
The officer then said to Reimer that they tried to call him ahead of their visit. The pastor, however, seemed surprised.
At this point, the officer said to Reimer that he needed to talk about what happened over the “weekend at Seton (the library at which he protested).”
The officer then told Reimer that he was “going to be arrested for it and charged,” later adding that warrants would soon be out for his arrest on charges of mischief and causing a disturbance.
Reimer serves as the pastor of Mission7 street ministry. On Saturday, he was forcibly removed from the Seton library after protesting at a children’s drag queen story time event.
Reimer told LifeSiteNews that his mission is to speak the name of truth as handed down by Jesus in the Gospels, and that is why he and others were protesting.
“That’s our mission. We are going to continue to do that,” he said.
Calgary police said Monday that they have launched a criminal investigation into Reimer.
“(We) continue to review witness statements, video footage and other evidence from this event to determine any potential charges,” a spokesperson for the Calgary Police Service said. “Our hate crimes coordinator will be reviewing all evidence to determine if any individual’s actions met the threshold to be considered a hate-motivated crime.”
Reimer knows it is now ‘hour by hour’ before he is taken in
Reimer told LifeSiteNews that the officer eventually left without arresting him after he spoke with him.
“It’s hour by hour. He (the cop) left to issue the warrant,” he said.
“I’m not surprised, but I am surprised. I think coming to my house this morning I was a little surprised about that, but I thought this was going to happen sooner than later.”
Reimer then said he was at City Hall yesterday in the public gallery, stressing that he was not there to preach or “rebuke anybody,” but he was recognized by security and was told to leave or face trespassing charges.
He told LifeSiteNews that he has been getting encouraging phone calls from supporters but also from “haters.”
Reimer, in speaking with LifeSiteNews on Tuesday, said that Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek city’s officials threatened to come after him with a “hate crime” investigation.
He said that despite being threatened with charges, he has vowed to continue to expose the “evil” of what he says is the “perversion and the indoctrination” of kids.
Calgary’s leftist Gondek has vowed to use the city’s street harassment bylaw to go after drag queen story time protesters.
Gondek made the vow three weeks ago, after some drag queen story time events were postponed due to protests.
She said that those protesting at such events could face fine of $500 in order to combat “hate and fear-mongering.”
In speaking with LifeSiteNews, Reimer said that Gondek is “coming against us and to enforce her street harassment bylaws.”
“They’ve opened up a hate crime case now against me,” he said.
“The cops said they have no opened up an investigation against me.”
Reimer said, however, that such an investigation will not deter him as he is a “Christian of the bible and the word of God.”
“There is freedom of religion, we have a constitution as well, but they’re trying to meander around that, and trying to stop us,” Reimer told LifeSiteNews.
“A lot of the public don’t even know what is happening or transpiring in our cities. We are getting more and more organized. We aren’t planning on stopping even if I would take a hit and go down. Well, be resilient, someone needs to take a stand here, these are strong Christian leaders that I have linked shields with and we are going to come together as a team.”
Reimer told LifeSiteNews that he was protesting the event as part of a new initiative called “Exposing Darkness” that he said will mobilize more “Christians to be on the offence” and that people need to start “pushing back against the evil and the wickedness, and the darkness in our city.”
The Calgary Public Library’s “Reading with Royalty” events will be taking place across the city at various locations over the next few months.
As it stands now Reimer has not been arrested but anticipates it could happen anytime now.