CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — Christian pastor Derek Reimer will remain jailed until at least March 14 after saying he cannot abide by bail conditions which prevent him from protesting at future children’s drag queen story time events.  

Reimer last week was hit with a slew of charges, including those related to so-called “hate speech,” for protesting a children’s drag queen story time at a public library in Calgary, Alberta.

Today, Reimer, of Mission7 street ministries, had a bail hearing in court via video conference and was granted bail at $3,000.

However, his release conditions also made it so that he had to promise to not protest at any drag queen events and stay at least 500 meters from where they are being held.  

His lawyer, Ben Allison, noted that such conditions “would be impossible for him to satisfy,” and as a result, Reimer’s bail hearing was adjourned until March 14.

As it stands, Reimer remains in custody at the Calgary Remand Centre, which is the same jail Pastor Artur Pawlowski was detained for weeks after being arrested for protesting COVID rules last year.   

Reimer was arrested last Thursday afternoon by members of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) after being warned the previous day that there were two warrants out for his arrest related to his protesting of a drag queen show marketed toward children.

Last Wednesday, Reimer had a CPS officer show up at his house to tell him that he would soon be arrested and charged. 

The officer then told Reimer that he was “going to be arrested for it and charged,” later adding that warrants would soon be out for his arrest on charges of mischief and causing a disturbance. 

The initial protest took place on February 25, which saw him forcibly removed from the Seton Calgary public library, where the event was being held. 

Reimer faces thousands in fines, jail-term spanning years

Reimer is now facing charges for a “hate-motivated crime,” which could total over $60,000 due to his yelling “homosexuality is a sin” during his protest. 

The CPS said in a press release that he has been charged with “one count of causing a disturbance and one count of mischief.” 

Additionally, City of Calgary peace officers have charged Reimer with six counts of harassment under the Public Behaviour Bylaw. 

These charges carry a penalty of up to $10,000 each, or six months in jail.  

In June of 2022, Calgary City Council, under its left-leaning Mayor Jyoti Gondek, amended the city’s bylaws to “specifically prohibit insulting or demeaning behavior, including unwanted sexual advances, or harassing anyone on the basis of age, race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity or gender expression, among others.” 

Gondek had vowed to use the city’s street harassment bylaw to go after drag queen story time protesters about a month ago, after some of the events were postponed by objectors. 

She said that those protesting at such events could face a fine of $500, which she saw as a step toward combatting “hate and fear-mongering.”  

Before his arrest last week, Reimer told LifeSiteNews he will remain committed to exposing the “evil” of these events, which he described as playing into the “perversion and the indoctrination” of kids. 

“We’ll be resilient. Someone needs to take a stand here. These are strong Christian leaders that I have linked shields with, and we are going to come together as a team,” Reimer said.