Pastor Artur Pawlowski reported that earlier in the week, arsonists attempted to set fire to his garage in Alberta, Canada.
In April, Pawlowski made news when he drove mask-enforcing inspectors and police officers out of his church, characterizing them as "Gestapo Nazi communist fascists."
Pawlowski and his brother were jailed earlier this month for hosting a church service defying the country's COVID-related ban on such gatherings. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, religious meetings in Alberta are presently limited to 15 people.
So, what's the scoop?
In an interview released on Monday by Rebel News, Pawlowski recounted a strange fire that flared out on his property barely a week after his arrest.
Pawlowski recalls going outdoors with his wife in the middle of the night on Saturday after hearing noise and bustle. They got the shock of their lives when they learned that firefighters were on the way to their house to put out a fire that had started in their garage.
According to the pastor, the fire was sparked by cardboard placed inside a blue bin pushed up against the garage's wooden door.
"Someone set our property on fire, someone wants us dead," he told local media, "And I'm thinking, 'Why?' I'm feeding the poor, I'm feeding Muslims, I'm feeding homosexuals. I'm feeding whites, and Asians, and blacks. I'm feeding people and I'm not hurting anyone and they want me dead and they want my children dead."
He went on to say that it was unthinkable in today's society for people to wish to kill one other for their differences.
The outspoken preacher said, "This is shocking. I would never imagine that we would be living in a country that the differences - you know, our rights to be different, our rights to be able to express ourselves in a different way than others - would be punishable by death by some of those people."
A case of growing intolerance in a free land?
Pawlowski also claimed that he is the victim of a hate crime.
"I don't know what can be done," he said. "If someone wants to hurt you, I guess they've got all kinds of ways. If they want to hurt you, they can hurt you."
Pawlowski said: "You don't have to like me, but my God, you want me dead? And my children? Why? All in the name of tolerance?"
Calgary police have yet to name any suspects in the strange incident, according to the report.
Besieged on all sides
According to Rebel News, Pawlowski will be the recipient of a "Save Artur" legal action fund.
"Lockdown lovers, public health officials, mainstream media, and even neighbors have cast stones (and sometimes dog feces and nails) at Pastor Artur's decision to defy the government's encroachment onto our most basic civil liberty: the freedom to worship God," according to the pro-religious freedom news source.
"Our crowdfunding efforts have provided Pastor Artur with top-notch lawyers since his first lockdown ticket last year to his arrest and bail last week." they added.
