Charges laid against controversial Aylmer pastor Henry Hildebrandt after an anti-restrictions rally in Norfolk County last year have been dropped, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announced Monday.
The organization hired a lawyer to represent Hildebrandt, as well as former MPP Randy Hillier, former MP Derek Sloan and citizen Dan Stasko, all of whom were charged with violating public health measures under the Ontario Reopening Act after a rally in Norfolk County in June 2021.
The Norfolk Crown attorney’s office could not be reached for comment on Monday evening.
“Citizens have the right to make their opinions known. We are pleased in this case to hear that the Crown will not proceed with prosecuting citizens who spoke out against harsh government lockdowns,” Henna Parmar, a lawyer with the Justice Centre, said in a statement.
Hildebrandt made a habit of flouting restriction rules, first by continuing to hold church services in the Church of God’s parking lot, and later moving those worship services indoors, despite provincial COVID-19 rules, racking up court fines, tickets and contempt of court rulings for ignoring court orders.
The ultra-conservative church’s doors were even ordered locked by a court in May 2021, when Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas referred to the building as “the crucible of contemptuous activity” after weeks of defiance of Ontario’s emergency restrictions.
The pastor, already a controversial figure in Aylmer and the surrounding region, became increasingly vocal during the pandemic and began travelling to attend and speak at anti-restrictions protests elsewhere in the province.
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