‘Lit a match’: Prosecutor says pastor’s fiery speech at Coutts blockade was mischief

A Crown prosecutor has told a trial that a Calgary pastor accused of encouraging truckers to keep blocking a Canada-U.S. border crossing a year ago meant to fan the flames with his visit.

Steven Johnston presented closing arguments Friday in the case of Artur Pawlowski.

Johnston said Pawlowski knew exactly what he was doing when he spent a day with the truckers involved in the blockade at Coutts, Alta.

The pastor amped up the group, the prosecutor said.

“He went there to fire up that crowd, to tell them to hold the line, to tell them not to leave, to tell them stand strong, ‘this is our Alamo,”’ Johnston said.

“He went to Coutts, lit a match and left the place.”

Pawlowski has pleaded not guilty to mischief and breaching a release order as well as a charge under the Alberta Critical Infrastructure Defence Act of wilfully damaging or destroying essential infrastructure.

The blockade, which began in late January 2022, paralyzed the province’s main U.S. border crossing for nearly three weeks.

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Several people were also charged in mid-February after RCMP found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in three trailers. Four men face charges of conspiracy to commit murder.

The Crown’s case against Pawlowski consists of a 20-minute video of a speech the pastor gave to protesters on Feb. 3, 2022, urging them to hold their ground because the world was watching.

“The eyes of the world are fixed right here on you guys. You are the heroes. Don’t you dare go breaking the line,” Pawlowski said in the video shown in court.

Johnston said the pastor’s speech was akin to yelling “fire” in a movie theatre. In the speech, Pawlowski also referenced labour strife in Poland.

“The entirety of the speech is about encouraging people to hold the line and stay here. When he says ‘here,’ he doesn’t mean some labour dispute. He’s actually in Coutts when that occurred,” the prosecutor said.

“He also referred to Coutts as this ‘pitiful piece of land,” so we’re talking about Coutts.“

The defence argued during the trial that Pawlowski was expressing his opinion and didn’t incite the crowd to do anything.

Johnston said the pastor knew exactly what he was doing when he spent a day at the blockade.

The trial was put over to Feb. 17, when a date is to be set for a verdict.

Pawlowski was also charged with violating COVID-19 protocols nearly two years ago, but the charges were stayed by the Crown in December.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2023.