Calgary pastor on trial for library drag storytime protests guilty of harassment
CBC
A Calgary pastor on trial for protesting at several library drag storytime events has been found guilty of criminal harassment and breaches of his bail conditions but was acquitted Wednesday on charges of causing a disturbance.
Derek Reimer's trial wrapped up this week after Justice Karen Molle heard closing arguments from prosecutor Matt Dalidowicz and defence lawyer Andrew MacKenzie.
On Wednesday, Molle convicted Reimer on four counts of breaching his bail conditions and one count of harassment. A date for sentencing will be set later this week.
Reimer runs Mission 7, a street ministry which, according to its website, hosts gatherings four days a week in Calgary.
All of Reimer's charges relate to protests of Reading With Royalty events hosted at Calgary Public Libraries.
The events involve drag queens and kings reading stories to children who are encouraged to dress in their best outfit, cape or crown.
Reimer, 38, repeatedly referred to the program as "pervert grooming sessions" on social media and when he shouted into a megaphone at people headed into the events.
The charges dealt with on Wednesday stem from incidents at the Saddletowne and Country Hills libraries between March 25 and April 2, 2023.
At the time, Reimer was on bail conditions that prohibited him from attending the storytime events or communicating, directly or indirectly, with any participant, performer or spectator.
But Molle found that on four occasions, the pastor breached his conditions with an intention to "deter and intimidate" people from attending the reading events.
On March 27, Reimer attended the Saddletowne Library and asked to speak with the manager. He proceeded to record their conversation, during which he again made derogatory comments about drag queens.
Later that day, he posted the video to Facebook, encouraging his followers to contact the manager to express their "disgust."
He also included her phone number, name and the date, time and location of the next drag event.
She ended up locking down her social media and testified the post made her feel upset, threatened and anxious.
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