'Your call for action turned on you,' says judge in rejecting appeal of convicted pastor
Derek Reimer was convicted of criminal harassment and 4 breaches of his bail conditions last year
Calgary pastor Derek Reimer used a "dangerous and clumsy tool" when he incited his followers to harass a librarian ahead of a drag storytime reading event, a judge ruled in rejecting both the protester's conviction and sentence appeal.
On Wednesday, Court of King's Bench Justice Shane Parker upheld Reimer's convictions for criminal harassment and bail breaches as well as his one-year conditional sentence order, which includes 24-hour house arrest followed by three years probation.
In arguing his sentence appeal, Reimer wanted a reduced sentence, claiming he and his wife had been harassed in the wake of the media attention following his arrests and trials.
Parker rejected the suggestion that should be given any weight when considering sentence.
'Invite the mob to act, you lose control'
The judge pointed out that Reimer was the one who decided to "invite the public in," intending for them to "turn on the librarian."
"The lesson here is once you invite the mob to act you lose control," said Parker.
"Your call for action turned on you … this is why inciting the public to intimidate and harass is a dangerous and clumsy tool; once unleashed, you lose control."
Reimer faced several sets of charges after he was arrested three times in five weeks in the spring of 2023, protesting Reading With Royalty events hosted at Calgary Public Library branches across the city.
The events involved drag queens reading stories to children.
The harassment
Reimer and his supporters have called the drag queens "perverts" and described the events as "pervert grooming sessions."
In December, Justice Karen Molle sentenced Reimer for harassing the Saddletown librarian on March 27, 2023, when he attended the library ahead of a Reading With Royalty event.
Strapped with a GoPro camera, Reimer confronted the manager about the event and recorded the interaction, accusing her of "corrupting kids" and told her if she followed through on the planned reading event, he would return.
He told her "we're going to make this public and your name's going to be out there.… I don't think you want that kind of attention."
Reimer then posted the video to his followers on Facebook, included the woman's name, title, a phone number and gave details of the time and location of the library event. He encouraged followers to contact the woman and to "take action."
'His conduct was dangerous'
The woman reported receiving a message that read "shame on you."
In her testimony, the woman said the post caused her anxiety. She said she warned colleagues and locked down her social media accounts.
In his appeal, defence lawyer Andrew MacKenzie argued that Reimer's conduct was not serious enough to cause fear in a reasonable person.
Parker rejected this argument, finding that Reimer labelled the woman as a child abuser and provided her contact information, "citing the mob to take it from there."
"His conduct was dangerous and would cause anyone to fear for their safety," said Parker. "This label has led to beatings and death."
Reimer's conditional sentence order means he is permitted to serve his sentence at home. However, he was arrested on May 8 after showing up at court 90 minutes early to participate in a protest on the courthouse steps.
Although he is allowed to attend court while on house arrest, the allegation is that he exploited the exemption by attending much earlier than required for the purpose of protesting.
Last week, Reimer was denied bail following his arrest. He is back in court on Thursday for a hearing on a charge of breaching his conditional sentence order.
In September 2024, a judge acquitted Reimer on charges of mischief and causing a disturbance connected to an incident at the Seton Library in February 2023.
The Crown has appealed those acquittals.
Last October, Reimer was found guilty of breach charges stemming from his protests. For those convictions, he was fined $500.
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