Aylmer pastor fined $5K after attending anti-lockdown London rally | London Free Press:
December 1, 2022 - "The leader of an Aylmer church that became an anti-lockdown flashpoint at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has been fined $5,000 for participating in a downtown London rally last winter.
"Church of God pastor Henry Hildebrandt was convicted under the Reopening Ontario Act, the law to enforce public-health measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, for attending the so-called World Wide Rally for Freedom on Jan. 22 at Victoria Park, municipal officials said on Thursday. Hildebrandt was fined $5,000 and ordered to pay court costs....
"The London rally was part of a movement in opposition to public-health measures such as limits on public gatherings, mandatory masking and the closure of businesses and schools.... Hildebrandt became a leading figure in the movement opposed to the government’s handling of the pandemic. He continued to hold both drive-in and indoor services at his Aylmer church, drawing attention from police and criticism from counter-protesters who held demonstrations outside its grounds.
"The defiant pastor racked up court fines and tickets since the beginning of the pandemic. He was charged along with then-MPPs Randy Hillier and Derek Sloan for attending a Norfolk County rally in June 2021, but the charges against the trio were dropped in September, according the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), a legal advocacy group hired to represent the men.
"The JCCF, a charity dedicated to fighting for constitutional freedoms, has taken on many cases of individuals charges under the Reopening Ontario Act. The legal group scored a recent victory when charges against a Goderich family that was fined for holding a birthday party were dropped on Nov. 2. The family had gathered to celebrate a birthday on April 23, 2021, amid a stay-at-home order that prohibited residents from leaving their homes except for approved reasons.... A lawyer for the Justice Centre worked out a deal with the Crown to drop the charges in exchange for the family agreeing to make a 'modest' charitable donation, the centre said.
“'While we are pleased that the charges have been dropped, it is concerning that these charges were laid at all,' Justice Centre lawyer Chris Naimi said in a statement issued Wednesday. 'The right to peaceful assembly is an enshrined constitutional right, whether it is a public political demonstration or an intimate family gathering.'"
Who is Pastor Henry Hildebrand?, Democracy Fund, Dec. 14, 2021:
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