Pastor Behind Bars Again After Being Hunted By Police Helicopter Search In Alberta

A Baptist pastor from Alberta was arrested for a second time following an aerial police discovery of his previously clandestine church gathering, as reported by the Calgary Herald.

Pastor Tim Stephens was arrested after officers arrived at his house to inform him of an alleged court order violation, video footage from Rebel News shows. The police informed Stephens that he had disobeyed the order by hosting an outdoor event with hundreds of Christian worshippers.

According to the Daily Wire, Stephens tried to debate the religious and legal grounds for the violation, to which one officer replied, “‘Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,’ right? So we’re not getting into this philosophical debate.”

“It is our position that AHS is engaged in an intentional act of public deception and abuse of authority in arresting Pastor Stephens and others,” said Jay Cameron, Director for Justice Centre Litigation.

Stephens was taken away in a barred police car and is now being held in the Calgary Remand Centre—the location for his June 28 trial.

Concern over COVID-19 has led to many similar instances of these interactions between religious leaders and police, including a previous interaction Stephens had with the police for similar violations back in May, according to the Calgary Herald.