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AYLMER – The pastor at the Church of God here is charged under Ontario’s emergency COVID-19 law after an indoor service was held at the church this weekend.
Police announced charges against two Aylmer men, 57 and 26, on Monday for hosting an indoor gathering exceeding the permit limit, but didn’t release the names of either.
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“Really the target for our investigation Sunday was those that were responsible for organizing the actual event,” Aylmer police Chief Zvonko Horvat said.
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Who is Aylmer pastor Henry Hildebrandt, and how did he go from religious firebrand to COVID-19 provocateur?
“The church service did take place today, and the service was held inside the building. his matter is currently under investigation as to charges that will be proceeded with,” deputy police Chief Nick Novacich said in an email.
This latest act of defiance comes one week after church members entered the building last Sunday during a drive-in service, leading police to charge dozens of people under the Reopening Ontario Act.
Under new rules introduced Dec. 26 to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario, places of worship can hold indoor or outdoor gatherings limited to 10 people where physical distancing can be maintained. Drive-in religious services are permitted under some conditions.
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Hildebrandt, 57, then runs over and hugs Adam Skelly, the Toronto barbecue restaurant owner who became a hero in the anti-restrictions movement after being charged for opening his eatery.
The crowd gathers around Hildebrandt while he continues his sermon before he invites the people inside the church building for “a tour.”
The congregants move inside the church, where they sit in the pews, pray and sing before the video ends.
Police received multiple complaints about the incident and have viewed footage of the gathering, Aylmer police Chief Zvonko Horvat said.
“We are going to be laying appropriate charges with respect to the breaches. Our intent is to charge everyone who has been in attendance,” Horvat said Monday.
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Police stopped a protester who on Sunday tried to disrupt a drive-in service at an Aylmer church that’s become a flashpoint in resistance to Ontario’s public-health measures.
The incident was the only major flare-up at the Church of God, where dozens of pro-mask demonstrators and counter-protestors lined the road in vehicles.
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The drive-in service was underway at the John Street Church around 11 a.m. when a man wearing a mask and holding a megaphone snuck onto church property before security and police escorted him away.