Artur Pawlowski fashions himself a Christian street preacher..He's been on the Calgary scene for some time, often appearing as a pain in the municipality's butt for minor bylaw infractions. His views have at times trod well beyond the politically incorrect into the genuinely hateful. .During the COVID-19 era, he was predictably defiant. And in many respects, that was a good thing. Lockdowns and mandates deserved to be met by defiance, and in the end, they — and Jason Kenney — were brought down by defiance. .Other pastors — like James Coates of GraceLife Church — were unjustly arrested and charged for defying lockdowns and mandates, but Pawlowski always seems different than the rest. He appeared to relish finally having the spotlight he felt he long deserved, being martyred for his faith, being the hero of his own story. .He would insert himself into anti-lockdown rallies. Speaking before or after often rational speakers who made a more articulate case for freedom, he would ramble about the Nazis and how he was the man standing up to them. It always seemed to come back to him. .During the Coutts blockade in February of 2022, truckers encamped there felt they'd achieved many of their goals and planned to move their Freedom Convoy to the Alberta Legislature, taking aim at then-premier Jason Kenney. They began packing up to go. .But at the last minute, Pawlowski showed up and demanded they stay and hold the line. He said it was their Alamo. .Stay they did. But Pawlowski did not. He skipped town before General Santa Anna stormed the fort. .For his role there he was charged and on May 2, convicted. .He might be a self-serving blowhard, but he should not have faced these charges. They were political, and intended to serve a dark authoritarianism that was creeping over the federal and Alberta governments alike in early 2022. .Since then, Jason Kenney was forced from office and Danielle Smith took power with a crusading mandate from UCP members to forbid lockdowns and mandates and hold at least some of those responsible accountable. .Not believing the charges against him were just, Smith asked Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Tyler Shandro to explore the possibility of some kind of amnesty or pardon. He reported back that was just not possible. .(This was an awkward position for Shandro, who as Kenney's Health minister oversaw lockdowns and mandates.) .Smith did Pawlowski the undeserved courtesy of a personal phone call to hear him out, and explain the situation to him..He directed his anger not at those responsible, but at the woman who tried to help him, however much she probably does not like him personally. .He surreptitiously recorded the phone call, and leaked its way to the press. Premier Smith has since paid a political price for trying to help him. .But to hear Pawlowski tell it, she didn't try to help him at all. She is, in his words, the "devil.".To get his revenge, he started a new political party, the "Solidarity Movement of Alberta," in a nod to his native Poland. It's running candidates primarily in swing ridings, hoping to split the vote and elect the NDP. .I've got an (obvious) soft-spot for insurgent, small conservative parties, but they should be dedicated to providing a rational, principled alternative to the mainstream conservative parties when such a break is necessary. .But Pawlowski's party seems quite explicitly to be dedicated to getting personal revenge against Danielle Smith for not violating the law herself in getting him off the hook. .Pawlowski and his Branch Arturians held a small event on the steps of the Alberta Legislature Wednesday where he promised to blow the lid off the Smith government, exposing it for the world to see. .What we got to see was a lot more about Pawlowski himself. Screaming for the cameras, he called Smith and the UCP: "Nazis," "Communists," "totalitarians," "murderers," and "devils.".He claimed Smith offered to let him chair the COVID-19 review panel as a bribe. And when that didn't work, that he was offered the chance to run in a safe UCP seat. Oh, also that they (shadowy UCP officials) offered him a $2 million bribe to shut up. .Given his propensity for secretly recording conversations, I expect he should have no shortage of evidence to back this up. .I'm ashamed to say I stayed relatively quiet about Pawlowski during COVID-19 because I found him embarrassing to the cause of freedom. I didn't want to highlight a self-appointed spokesman who made those of us who opposed lockdowns and mandates look crazy. .But we can't stay silent about this charlatan any more. .He has the freedom to say whatever he wants — but we cannot stay silent while he claims to speak in our name. Or God's.
