The son of a Canadian pastor faces potential fines and jail time for allegedly violating a new municipal bylaw in Calgary, Alberta, when he preached and read the Bible outside a drag queen story time for children at a public library on Saturday.
According to Fox News, Nathaniel Pawlowski, son of Cave of Adullam congregation pastor the Rev. Artur Pawlowski, was detained for preaching and reading the Bible outside Calgary Public Library – allegedly in violation of a new municipal bylaw that bans protests within 100 meters of a library.
“We went there just to preach, read the Bible, and just speak,” Nathaniel Pawlowski, 23, told Fox News Digital about the incident, which was captured on video.
Pawlowski said he and friend Deklan Friesen were speaking to a gathering outside the library when police detained them, moving them away from the crowd and issuing them tickets. The reason cited was an alleged violation of the bylaw, Pawlowski said.
Last month, the Calgary City Council passed the Safe and Inclusive Access Bylaw, which prohibits protests within 100 meters of a recreation facility or library entrance. The council also modified its public behavior bylaw to include the term “intimidation,” according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
The changes were made shortly after the Rev. Derek Reimer was arrested for disrupting a children’s drag queen story hour at Seton Library in Calgary. Reimer has been arrested three times in recent weeks and spent Easter weekend behind bars.
Pawlowski said that despite the presence of counterprotesters at the event who apparently supported transgender ideology — including several people waving Pride flags who attempted to interrupt his preaching — only he and Friesen were issued tickets.
“I asked the peace officers if they are going to enforce the same law on to the other side with the Antifa protesters, and he assured me [they would],” Pawlowski said. “So, I waited the entire time until they left, and nobody was served a ticket except for myself and my friend for preaching, reading the Bible and holding a prayer vigil.”
Pawlowski said his open-air preaching emphasized “morality, biblical standards, sexual immorality and how this radical gender ideology has gone too far.”
