An emotional video of James Coates being released from the Edmonton Remand Center after being imprisoned for over 5 weeks has been captured by Rebel News Media, who has been tireless in their advocacy and favorable coverage of the incarcerated pastor.
James was released after the judge in the case described him as “bad shepherd” who wasn’t loving his flock by choosing to remain open and have services, but released him nonetheless with a $1500 fine that was covered by time served.
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Continue to keep the Coates family in your prayers.
A judge has begrudgingly agreed to accept the joint submission between the Crown prosecutors and James Coates’ defense team, while adding another fine of $1500 for good measure. This ensures the Edmonton-based Gracelife Church pastor is able to leave the prison without having to agree to the previous conditions that were on his release, including not stepping foot on church property. He is expected to be on this side of the bars in a matter of hours.
Provincial Judge Jeffrey Champion initially balked at the small fine being paid, declaring it unacceptable and saying it wouldn’t be viewed by the average person as a legitimate deterrent. For this reason, he denied the 100$ fine and instead imposed a $1,500 fine against him, saying in an exasperated voice. “Your decision could have been of danger to the health and safety of those in the community.” and chiding him for being a bad pastor, saying “The shepherd ought to protect his flock”
Nontheless, the judge also told Coates that his time spent in custody would count as the entire fine, meaning he doesn’t have to pay anything.
James will shortly walk out after spending 35 days in a maximum-security prison for the crime of ultimately insisting that Christ is the head of the church who determines what His worship looks like, not the government.
During the hearing, Coates spoke before the court, saying:
The court is aware that I am contesting the legitimacy of that law and so I think that my position is pretty clear, but please make no mistake, this is not a statement that I’m making to society, I’m not trying to make a point, I’m not a political revolutionary. I have a responsibility before God to Shepard the people entrusted to me. I have a responsibility to be obedient to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and it’s simply that obedience that has me here in this place.
While James is free and will be rejoining his family and church very shortly, he will still have to appear for his May 3rd trial, the result of refusing to please guilty to one of the lesser charges that were not dropped. This is by design.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms and Coates are refusing to plead guilty so that they can force a trial. The nature of his trial will be unique, as it won’t so much be Coates on trial, but rather the government’s health orders instead. Here, they will determine whether or not the government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (contained in The Canadian Constitution).
This would essentially force the provincial government to provide scientific evidence in open court that justifies their health orders and lockdowns, where up to this point they have just been deciding by divine fiat without providing the data.
In particular, they expect to be cross-examining the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who for the first time since the pandemic began, will be forced to answer some tough questions under oath. This will surely be a change for her, as so far up this point all the questions asked to her over the last 12 months have been softballs lobbed by a pro-lockdown media in a very friendly setting. No longer.
While the win in Alberta would not be binding across any other province, it would be persuasive and have other courts take notice, along with emboldening other pastors to take similar stands and force the issue.
With the ebullient news that the prosecutor and defense have negotiated an agreement to see James Coates released from prison, it has set the stage for the imprisoned pastor to be released as soon as tomorrow, providing the judge in the case doesn’t throw a monkey wrench in the proceedings by denying their agreement.
Through negotiations with the crown, the prosecutors have agreed to withdraw all charges but one. They are withdrawing one charge of violating the health order, as well as one charge of failing to comply with the undertaking that the police imposed on Pastor Coates.
John Carpay of the JFFC says that there have been some deep negotiations behind the scenes, with experienced criminal defense lawyers on staff such as James Kitchen, Leighton Gray, James Cameron, and Jocelyn Gerke doing a lot of legwork and research to get to this point.
There’s been some back and forth with the crown on what we think the law is, and working out a solution that both sides could live with. Obviously, the government does not want to lose face. They don’t want to be seen as just suddenly walking away from this after telling everybody that we need to have all these ridiculous restrictions in order to save lives. They can’t just back down that easily and suddenly walk away from it.
With this resolution in hand, the case will go before a judge in a few days, where the prosecutor and defense will submit a joint submission. While it’s highly likely that the judge will accept it, it is important to note that it’s not guaranteed or a foregone conclusion. While it would be very rare, it is not without precedent that the judge could refuse to accept the joint submission and keep James incarcerated until his trial or until he accepts the conditions that prohibit him from stepping foot on church property. Alberta still considers itself in the midst of a public health crisis, and the judge may be immovable.
If the judge does approve the joint submission, then James will plead guilty to one of the two charges of violating a health order have to pay a $100 fine and then be released without conditions. At this point it is unclear if this fine is in addition to the $1200 he was previously charged with several months ago.
It’s important to know that the other health order charge is still taking place, with Coates pleading ‘Not Guilty.’
This is by design.
The JFFC and Pastor Coates are refusing to plead guilty so that they can force a trial. This is what they want. The nature of his trial will be unique, as it won’t so much be Coates on trial, but rather the government’s health orders instead. Here, they will determine whether or not the government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (contained in The Canadian Constitution).
This would essentially force the provincial government to provide scientific evidence in open court that justifies their health orders and lockdowns, where up to this point they have just been deciding by divine fiat without providing the data.
In particular, they expect to be cross-examining the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who for the first time since the pandemic began, will be forced to answer some tough questions under oath. This will surely be a change for her, as so far up this point all the questions asked to her over the last 12 months have been softballs lobbed by a pro-lockdown media in a very friendly setting. No longer.
While the win in Alberta would not be binding across any other province, it would be persuasive and have other courts take notice, along with emboldening other pastors to take similar stands and force the issue.
The Justice Centre announced today that the Crown Prosecutors in the Gracelife Church case have agreed to withdraw all but one of the Public Health Act offenses that Pastor James Coates has been charged with. According to a Justice Center for Consitiutitional Freedoms press release,
“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.
The Justice Centre will defend Pastor Coates on one remaining charge of violating an Order of the Chief Medical Officer of Health by challenging the lawfulness of the public health order that he is charged with violating.”…
With the bulk of the criminal charges being withdrawn, all Pastor Coates will have to pay is a $100 fine for breaching the condition. The lone charge has not been withdrawn, however, as the Justice Centre and Pastor Coates want the matter to proceed to trial so that the constitutionality of the public health order can be determined.
Right now churches may only hold worship at 15% capacity, and their goal is to compel the government of Alberta to produce scientific evidence that supports their ongoing restrictions and curtailment of their Charter freedoms.
During James Coates recent hearing, Crown prosecutor Karen L. Thorsrud, the lawyer leading the charge in the GraceLife Church case, insisted that Pastor James Coates must remain locked in prison for the good of all, stating that the Alberta government believes he is a danger to society and that keeping him incarcerated and away from his church would keep the public safe.
So adamant was their insistence, it makes one wonder why they haven’t intervened and arrested Associate Pastor Jacob Spenst. He’s been leading services since Coates was arrested, making him as much of a danger to society as Coates. Hypocritically, but also mercifully, he has not been picked up and the church has continued to have services as normal.
While Coates remains incarcerated “for the protection of the populace,” several high-profile sex offenders have been released from prison in as many months, with Edmonton police putting out press releases stating that they are likely to offend and go back to their dark and evil crimes.
Last March, Edmonton resident Wade Stene kidnapped an 8-year-old girl, throwing her into his van and raping her. He was charged with six offenses, including sexual assault with a weapon, kidnapping, and issuing death threats. He spent three months in prison and then was released on bail into the community, or about as long as Pastor Coates will if he doesn’t get released awaiting his trial.
Two months ago Russell Sikyea was released. Unlike James Coates, he has no conditions on his release. He has a history of breaking into homes and sexually assaulting women while they sleep, as well as voyeuristically watching minors. Police have said he “poses a significant risk of harm to the community” and should be “avoided at all costs.” He has fewer conditions of release than Pastor Coates does.
This week Cyle Larsen was released. Again. He has a long criminal history of sexually abusing at least 19 minors going back over a decade, with the youngest being 4 years old. Law enforcement has issued a statement saying they have “reasonable grounds to believe he will commit another sexual offense against someone under the age of 16 while in the community.” According to Global News, “Larsen has pedophilic interests toward both boys and girls and has a history of “opportunistic offending” against children in his life. He’s also shown he will groom and/or lure his victims.”
The fact that Coates remains imprisoned while they are walking free, some with fewer conditions than he has, demonstrates where the government’s priorities lie. They don’t really care about victims or justice. Rather, it is about exerting control and quieting the gospel, treating the church as a non-essential irritant that must be silenced in order to “protect the public” from this “dangerous offender” whose only crime is being a faithful pastor.
