Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

MAGA Pastor Arrested On Tarmac After Returning From 4-Month Tour Of Spreading COVID Conspiracies

MAGA Pastor Arrested On Tarmac After Returning From 4-Month Tour Of Spreading COVID Conspiracies
@RonFilipkowski/Twitter

Upon returning from an anti-vaccine and anti-mask speaking tour catering to MAGA crowds in the United States, Artur Pawlowski—anti-LGBTQ+ pastor for the Cave of Adullam church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada—was arrested on the tarmac of the Calgary International Airport.

Ron Filipkowski, shared a video of Pawlowski's arrest on his Twitter page, showing Pawlowski deliberately disobeying the requests of the arresting officer by getting on his knees and putting his hands behind his head.



In a follow-up tweet, Filipkowski stated Pawlowski "repeatedly violated court orders," suggesting this might have been the reason for his arrest.

He also shared images of the far-right pastor with Eric Trump, son of former President Donald Trump, as well as one of his appearances on Fox News during his US Covid misinformation tour.


But, Sarah Miller, Pawlowski's lawyer, reported he was charged with "contempt of court" following an incident on June 5, though she didn't disclose any further details as to what the incident entailed.

This was not the first arrest for the far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ pastor.

Pawlowski had previously been arrested in May of this year, alongside his brother, Dawid Pawlowski, for organizing an illegal in person gathering at his church, ignoring Covid-19 mandates regarding masks and social distancing.

Pawlowski used his arrest as an opportunity to spout his far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs on tour in the United states, painting himself the victim on Fox News for being arrested—in his version of reality—for "enticing people to come to church" and begging viewers for "help in Canada."

"You have been, historically speaking, a giant, a great eagle, that is always coming to our aid."
"Canada has been taken over by communism, socialism, fascistic hybrid."

The Polish born Pawlowski, who owned a construction business prior to becoming a pastor in Canada, made several headlines for his far right, bigoted hate speech long before his arrests.

In 2013, he wrote on the website of his church the floods happening in the province of Alberta, Canada at the time were God's punishment for the "perversion of homosexuality."

In 2017, Pawlowski organized a rally titled "In Defense of Christianity" alongside anti-gay and anti-abortion activist Bill Whatcott, which quickly turned violent.

Pawlowski has spent most of this past year fighting regulations regarding Covid-19, namely all the restrictions placed on his church, even calling the Canadian police and health inspectors "Nazis" for enforcing the mandates.

This led to Pawlowski's first appearance on Fox News, where he compared the police entering his church on Easter to his childhood growing up in communist Poland.

He said:

"Police officers could break into your house five in the morning, they could beat you up, torture, they could arrest you for no matter what reason they would come up with."

The police in this instance had a very clear reason for why they entered his church—the disobedience of social distancing mandates and wearing masks during a global pandemic.

The police did not physically harm a single member of Pawlowski's congregation.

 Pawlowski's history of bigoted, hate filled rhetoric resulted in a fair amount of celebration on Twitter following his arrest.





Though Pawlowski also found support from fellow anti-vaxxers and Evangelical Christians on Twitter.

Many asked for prayers for what they viewed as religious persecution.

Pawlowski admitted he knowingly broke the law by putting the health and safety of his congregation at risk, but this didn't affect his portrayal as a victim according to his supporters.



Filipkowski shared another Tweet, featuring a recording of the first call Pawlowski made from jail.

In it, the self-proclaimed MAGA pastor compared the Canadian government—specifically Alberta under Premiere Jason Kenney—to the regimes of Hitler, Stalin and Mao.

"This has everything to do with tyranny and medical tyranny."
"They are following their masters like Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Josef Stalin would probably be very, very happy right now at seeing what Kenny's government is doing."
"We have lost our freedoms, we have no rights whatsoever in this country."

Sarah Miller, secured Pawlowski's release seven hours after his arrest, on "the condition he keep the peace and be of good behavior."

As of now, Pawlowski faces up to three weeks in jail from his earlier charges back in May, as well as a number of fines.

But if his recent behavior is any indication, rules and regulation don't seem to be much of a concern for Pawlowski.

More charges could be headed his way in the not so distant future.

More from Trending

Country Singer Gavin Adcock went on a drunken rant over Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" success.
Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Country singer rants over Beyoncé album

Country singer Gavin Adcock became the title of his next album, “Own Worst Enemy,” after going on an unhinged rant about the legitimacy of Beyoncé's Grammy-winning and record-breaking Cowboy Carter in the country music genre.

Adcock, whose upcoming album is set for release next month, was filmed during a live performance last weekend, complaining that Beyoncé and her album are not “country music.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Dionne Warwick; Tiny Chef
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images; @ToonHive/X

Dionne Warwick Is Ready To Go To War With Nickelodeon Over 'Tiny Chef' Cancellation

You know your campaign against a show's cancellation is achieving widespread attention when you get people like venerated singer Dionne Warwick advocating for you.

Nickelodeon's The Tiny Chef Show was recently cancelled, much to the dismay of its viewers and creators. It was also a genuinely surprising decision, since the show has won an Emmy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman relaxing in sunhat and sunglasses
Photo by Jordan Bauer on Unsplash

People Explain Which 'Small Luxuries' They Can't Live Without

Many of us have committed to being fairly financially frugal and not overspending on silly, unnecessary things.

That is to say, sometimes, it's fun to splurge on something one time to see what it's like to experience that small luxury.

Keep ReadingShow less
two women in emotional distress seated on couch
Ben White on Unsplash

People Who've Experienced Grief Share The Most Tone-Deaf Things They've Heard

Grief, loss, trauma are all part of life. But for most people, the emotions and reactions that go with them are difficult to witness.

So they rely on platitudes to fill any holes in conversation. That's rarely a good idea.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Demands 'Boss Of AT&T' Fix Equipment After Failed Conference Call In Bizarre Meltdown

When most of us have technical difficulties, we contact tech support or customer service.

But if you're President of the United States, just ranting on social media—then having your White House Press Secretary post a screenshot of your post on a social media platform people actually use—is apparently the answer.

Keep ReadingShow less