Derek Reimer was arrested and charged with breach of bail on Wednesday
A judge heard on Wednesday that a Calgary pastor who is charged with hate crimes after an argument at a library drag event has a history of violent assaults and animal abuse.
As part of a contested bail hearing, Crown prosecutor Zailin Lakhoo gave new information about Derek Reimer’s criminal history, the library disturbance, and a jail cell attack the pastor is accused of committing.
Reimer, who is 36 years old, was arrested last week for breaking the terms of his previous release when he went to another library drag book reading. He was released on bail on Wednesday.
The pastor was arrested on February 25 after a Reading with Royalty event, where he is said to have made homophobic and transphobic comments to children who were there.
Aggravated assault
In Calgary in 2015, Reimer was found guilty of hurting a dog. As a punishment, he was put on probation for a year.
Before that, Reimer had already been sent to jail twice in Winnipeg.
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A man who is accused of hate crimes at drag storytime won’t say he won’t go to LGBTQ events.
In 2011, he was found guilty of assaulting someone and hurting them. He got eight months in jail and 18 months of probation.
Two years later, Reimer was found guilty of two counts of serious assault and given a two-year prison sentence.
Over the years, charges of theft, vandalism, intimidation, and at least two other assaults have been dropped or put on hold in both Alberta and Manitoba.
Kids were crying during the fight
On February 25, Reimer went to the Seton Library for a Calgary Pride event called Reading with Royalty. The event was for kids between the ages of six and eight.
Lakhoo says that Reimer pushed parents to the front of the room, where he shouted homophobic and transphobic slurs that made some of the kids cry.
The Crown says that, based on what witnesses said, Reimer boasted that he had stopped three drag shows from happening in the past eight days and said he would come back to stop more shows.
After a few days, Reimer was arrested at his home and charged with vandalism and making a scene.
Assault on cellmate allege
He was given bail, but he didn’t agree to the conditions that told him to stay away from LGBTQ2S+ people and events. So, Reimer spent several days in jail at the Calgary Remand centre.
During that time, Reimer was charged with institutional misconduct for attacking his cellmate, which the Crown told the judge about.
On March 5, Reimer went up to a guard and said he punched a wall and broke his hand. He asked for medical help.
When sheriffs went to check on Reimer’s cellmate, they found that the man had been badly beaten and had cuts on his face and head. Two cuts on the victim had to be fixed with glue.
Unprovoked attac
Both men were interviewed by staff at the Remand Center.
The person who was hurt said that when he woke up, Reimer was beating him for no reason.
Reimer told the police that he attacked his roommate because he smelled and looked bad.
The police looked into it, but the person who was hurt did not want to press charges.
On March 7, Reimer finally met the terms of his bail and was freed. One of the conditions of Reimer’s bail was that he couldn’t get within 200 meters of events put on by the LGBTQ community.
He told his followers that he only agreed to the rules so he could get help for his hurt hand.
Reimer shows up at the drag sho
Reimer went to a protest at the Signal Hill Library on March 13. He told people there that he would be back on March 15 for another Reading with Royalty event.
Reimer came to the event and set up camp in a nearby parking lot with a megaphone. The Crown says that he was 160 meters from the library door.
He was taken into custody by police in Calgary and charged with breaking the rules of his bail.
Wednesday, Lakhoo spoke out against Reimer’s re-release by reading out loud a few quotes from videos of Reimer speaking that had been posted online in the last week.
“I can’t stop doing the things that God has told us to do…. I know that, in all likelihood, I will end up back there, “he said about being locked up.
Reimer release
Ben Allison, the defense lawyer, fought hard for his client’s release. He told the judge that Reimer thought he couldn’t be within 100 meters of the event, not 200 meters.
Allison said, “If he really wanted to break in, he’d be at the library door.”
If Reimer is found guilty of the crimes, he or she will probably spend 30 to 60 days in jail. With the time he has already served counted, Reimer is getting close to the amount of time he would have to serve.
Judge Susan Pepper of the provincial court agreed to let Reimer go, but she put new rules in place.
‘You say you are a man of God
Reimer is not allowed to be within 300 meters of Reading with Royalty events or any other LGBTQ community events.
He can’t do anything to make it hard for someone to take part in an LGBTQ event.
And he can’t talk to or interact with anyone he knows who is performing or attending a Reading with Royalty event.
The Crown said that police are thinking about bringing more charges against Reimer for making people hate each other in public.
“You say you are religious and that you are a man of God. I hope it’s important to you that you don’t make people feel like you hate them “said Pepper.