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MAGA Pastor Makes Triumphant Return Home, Gets Arrested Immediately

Artur Pawlowski landed in Canada and was led off the tarmac in handcuffs after spending four months spreading misinformation in the U.S.

Canada’s very own MAGA pastor Artur Pawlowski, known for defying COVID-19 orders and spreading anti-vax misinformation, was arrested upon arriving back home on Monday. Calgary police said Pawloski was arrested on the tarmac on two outstanding warrants for failing to wear a mask in March and disobeying a court order in June. Pawlowski and his brother David regularly held maskless church services during the pandemic and denied local health officials entry to the building. Both were found guilty of contempt in June; the sentencing is expected in October.

Pawloski was returning home from a whirlwind four-month misinformation speaking tour through the U.S. He appeared at dozens of right-wing, anti-vax conferences, but also found the time to awkwardly fist bump with figures like Eric Trump. In a phone call from jail on Tuesday, he called his arrest “medical tyranny” and said the government was “following their masters, like Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Josef Stalin.” Prosecutors want Pawlowski to get jail time.