Ranting Canadian pastor calls cops 'Nazi psychos' after they entered church to check Covid measures


A controversial Canadian church leader has shared a video of himself berating police officers attempting to enforce Covid-19 restrictions during an Easter service.

Pastor Artur Pawlowski shouted ‘Nazis are not welcome here’ and referred to officers as ‘Gestapo’ during the confrontation on Saturday. 

Pawlowski, the pastor of Calgary’s Street Church, was leading a Passover service at a building known as the Fortress (Cave) of Adullam, when officers and city officials arrived.

In the footage, filmed by the pastor, several officers stand on the stairwell into the building while he orders them to ‘get out of this property immediately’.

‘I don’t want to hear anything… out immediately,’ he shouts, as a female officer appears to try and explain their presence.

‘I don’t care what you have to say, Out!,’ Pawlowski bawls, telling officers to leave ‘until you come back with a warrant’.  

‘Out of this property, you Nazis,’ the pastor shouts. ‘Gestapo is not allowed here.’  

A controversial Canadian church leader has shared a video of himself berating police officers attempting to enforce Covid-19 restrictions during an Easter service. Pastor Artur Pawlowski (pictured) shouted 'Nazis are not welcome here' and referred to officers as 'Gestapo' during the confrontation on Saturday

A controversial Canadian church leader has shared a video of himself berating police officers attempting to enforce Covid-19 restrictions during an Easter service. Pastor Artur Pawlowski (pictured) shouted ‘Nazis are not welcome here’ and referred to officers as ‘Gestapo’ during the confrontation on Saturday 

In the footage, filmed by the pastor, several officers stand on the stairwell into the building while he orders them to 'get out of this property immediately'

In the footage, filmed by the pastor, several officers stand on the stairwell into the building while he orders them to ‘get out of this property immediately’

The officers eventually exit the building with the pastor following behind.

‘Nazis are not welcome here,’ he shouts after the officers. ‘And don’t come out without a warrant.’ 

Pawlowski then turns the camera on himself for a lengthy rant, labelling officers ‘sick psychopath’s and accusing them of ‘coming to intimidate Christians during the holiest festival’. 

The pastor, who often engages in open-air preaching and is known for his staunch opposition to homosexuality, abortion and Sharia law, shared the video on Twitter, writing: ‘Police came to disrupt Church gathering!

‘Gestapo came again to intimidate the Church parishioners during the Passover Celebration!!! Unbelievable!’ 

'I don't care what you have to say, Out!,' Pawlowski bawls, telling officers and officials to leave 'until you come back with a warrant'. 'Out of this property, you Nazis,' the pastor shouts. 'Gestapo is not allowed here'

‘I don’t care what you have to say, Out!,’ Pawlowski bawls, telling officers and officials to leave ‘until you come back with a warrant’. ‘Out of this property, you Nazis,’ the pastor shouts. ‘Gestapo is not allowed here’

In a press release, Calgary Police Service said officers had been dispatched to ensure Covid-19 regulations were being followed.

‘The concern was that the people in attendance were not adhering to the government’s COVID-19 public health orders, which are in place to ensure everyone’s safety,’ police said in the release, noting ‘the organizer of the gathering was uncooperative’.

No tickets were issued at the time but police said it was possible they might be in the future.

‘It will be up to our partner agencies to determine subsequent enforcement activity in response to this situation.’

An Alberta Health Services (AHS) spokesperson told CTV News that representatives attended the service to ‘observe whether the organization was following’ the province’s Covid-19 guidelines but could not complete their work because of the confrontation. 

‘Our inspector was not granted access inside, so was unable to confirm if (Chief Medical Officer of Health) orders were being followed,’ said Marni Kuhlmann, senior communication advisor with AHS, in an email to CTV News. 

‘Our inspectors have an important job to do and we ask that business owners and organizations treat them with respect. We stand by all of our public health inspectors who are doing an incredible job in trying and challenging circumstances,’ she said.

Officials and officers eventually leave the building, having been unable to check whether guidelines were being adhered to at the service

Officials and officers eventually leave the building, having been unable to check whether guidelines were being adhered to at the service

Local media reported that Pawlowski (pictured) has been charged multiple times under Alberta's Public Health Act for breaching Covid-19 regulations

Local media reported that Pawlowski (pictured) has been charged multiple times under Alberta’s Public Health Act for breaching Covid-19 regulations

‘We expect that all places of worship across Alberta follow the CMOH restrictions and we thank everyone who continues to do their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 this holiday weekend and throughout the pandemic.’

CTV News reported that officials from the City of Calgary Bylaw Services were also in attendance, alongside city police. 

Local media reported that Pawlowski has been charged multiple times under Alberta’s Public Health Act for breaching Covid-19 regulations. 

Churches in the area can hold services but must keep attendance below 15 per cent and follow guidelines including wearing masks and social distancing. 

However the controversial pastor was praised by some on social media who see pandemic restrictions as infringing on their right to religious worship.

Ezra Levant, the founder of far-right commentary website Rebel News, said Pawlowski’s response was ‘how you handle police who enter a church without a warrant.’  

‘They’re lucky they only got a tongue-lashing: s. 176 of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to disturb a church service. Those @CalgaryPolice thugs were breaking the law (and knew it),’ he claimed in a tweet.  



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