Gov’t releases Canadian pastor jailed for welcoming people to church
Pastor James Coates’ church had been admitting believers exceeding 15 percent of the building’s capacity, violating lockdowns in Alberta.
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EDMONTON, Alberta, March 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Canadian Pastor James Coates, who was jailed for holding church services amid COVID lockdowns, will soon be released from prison. His legal team announced today that Crown prosecutors agreed to drop most of the charges.
“The Justice Centre today announced that Crown Prosecutors have agreed to withdraw all but one of the Public Health Act offences that Pastor James Coates has been charged with. The Justice Centre expects Pastor Coates will be released from jail in the coming days, without any conditions, pending his May 3-5 trial in Provincial Court,” said Coates’ legal team, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) in a press release.
Coates and his Grace Life Church located in Spruce Grove, Alberta, are being represented by the JCCF. Today’s news comes only a few weeks after an Alberta court judge on March 5 dismissed an appeal to Coates’ bail conditions, which would have kept him behind bars until his trial date.
Coates has been in jail since February 16 at the Edmonton Remand Centre for defying local COVID health orders in Alberta, after refusing to agree to bail conditions which block his release unless he agrees to not hold church services amid severe coronavirus lockdowns.
full story at https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-govt-releases-canadian-pastor-jailed-for-welcoming-people-to-church