Calgary pastor Derek Reimer has been sentenced to a year of house arrest and two additional years of probation after opposing drag queen story hour events, prompting a fundraising campaign amidst concerns over free speech.The sentence was delivered two days before Christmas, something Reimer's lawyer Andrew MacKenzie described as "a lump of coal" in an interview with former MP Derek Sloan on his Rumble channel Funding the Fight.According to the interview, Reimer's legal troubles began in February 2022 when the Pastor of Mission 7 Ministries attended a drag queen story hour at the Seton Public Library in Calgary. Reimer approached the library manager to voice his disapproval of the reading aimed at children aged six to eight. The conversation lasted 12 seconds."After seeing a library and going into the classroom of the program was taking place and voicing my disapproval as the public and as a Christian man, I decided, You know what, I want to talk to who's in charge," Reimer explained."I want to have a friendly conversation. It's okay if we disagree, but I want to let them know that, again, as me as the public, and me as a Christian man and in a Christian country, that this is not okay, that this is unacceptable and and I don't approve of this," Reimer added.Reimer was acquitted on a charge regarding his conversation. However, he posted video of it online. This prompted someone not named in court documents that Reimer doesn't know, to say, "Shame on you," to the library manager. For this the judge found Reimer guilty of criminal harassment charge, which MacKenzie argues, is highly unusual and unwarranted.According to Reimer, in the following weeks, he protested at other libraries, and was successful in shutting down about 15 events. He was arrested and re-arrested three times in five weeks, ultimately spending 43 days in jail. Derek has received multiple criminal charges and by-law tickets totaling thousands of dollars.During Reimer's sentencing hearing, he sought God with others in a place that ultimately turned against him."The best part of all of this was having the opportunity to speak in court twice, and then taking communion inside the courthouse there," Reimer said. "To pray and worship Jesus in there and be a light in the darkness is just phenomenal," Reimer said.The lawyer remains concerned the criminal justice system to silence those who hold unpopular opinions. Mckenzie gave multiple examples in court of people who actually were stalking and threatening people who didn't even receive house arrest, but only a short period of probation."This could be the test case," MacKenzie warned. "This could open the door to a lot of individuals around Canada being criminalized for posting the wrong thing on social media."As the case moves forward to the appeal process, MacKenzie urged Canadians to pay close attention and to speak out against the troubling precedent that this conviction could set."If we allow the state to criminalize peaceful protest and dissent, we risk sliding down a dangerous path towards the erosion of our most cherished democratic freedoms," MacKenzie warned.Sloan arranged for people to donate to Reimer's legal fees. Donors can e-transfer to fundingthefight@proton.meusing the password "Freedom" with "Pastor Derek" in the memo line.
