Calgary Pastor Found Guilty of Harassment, Not Guilty of Causing Disturbance at Drag Storytime Protests

A Calgary pastor has been found guilty of criminal harassment and breaches of bail conditions but was acquitted on charges of causing a disturbance for protesting at library drag storytime events between March 25 and April 2.

The Alberta Court of Justice trial for Derek Reimer concluded on Aug. 21, with closing arguments from prosecutors and Reimer’s attorney, Andrew MacKenzie.

On Aug. 22, Justice Karen Molle found Reimer guilty of criminal harassment for publishing on Facebook a video recording of a conversation between himself and the manager of a Calgary library where a drag reading event was to take place, while encouraging his supporters to contact the manager to express their opposition to the event.

Molle also convicted Reimer of four counts of breaching his bail conditions, which prohibited him from attending drag storytime events or communicating with participants.

She dismissed two charges of causing a public disturbance related to Reimer’s use of a microphone and speaker outside two storytime library events, saying the actions were not a criminal offence.

Defence attorney MacKenzie told The Epoch Times on Aug. 22 he was disappointed by the convictions, saying courts usually give an accused the benefit of the doubt regarding bail conditions and that had not happened in this case.

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“Pastor Derek was following the letter of the law on his release orders,” MacKenzie said in an email. “His conditions were very specifically worded; he followed the specific conditions, but was found guilty because the judge interpreted the spirit of the conditions to mean something else.”

An appeal of the decision is possible, he said.

In an email to The Epoch Times, Reimer echoed his lawyer’s disappointment.

“It’s appalling to witness a court of law interpret and distort evidence so severely that it completely changes the original motive and intention behind one’s actions,” Reimer said. “They have essentially created a twisted story to justify a guilty verdict.”

Crown prosecutors would not comment on the case while it remains before the courts.

A date for his sentencing will be set on Aug. 23 and he remains free on bail.

Other Charges

Reimer is still waiting for a decision on charges from a separate incident on Feb. 25, 2023, when he was charged with one count of causing a disturbance and one count of mischief for a protest at Seton Library in Calgary during a drag queen storytime event.

That case was postponed in July when the judge expressed interest in hearing additional “free speech arguments” in September, according to Reimer.

At the time of his arrest on the Feb. 25 charges, Calgary police called it a hate-motivated crime, defined as “recognizable crimes, like assault, theft, vandalism or any other crime, where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on the personal characteristics of the victim.”

He was released on bail with conditions that included staying 300 metres away from events organized by the LGBT community.

The bylaw was put in place in March 2023 in response to protests at drag events. It prohibits protesters from demonstrating within 100 metres of an entrance to city-operated recreation facilities, including libraries.

Reimer said the bylaw violates charter freedoms and he is challenging it in a different court case.

The City of Calgary has defended the bylaw, saying it does not prohibit public protests unless they target people who are protected under the Alberta Human Rights Act.

Tara MacIsaac contributed to this report.