Calgary preacher, acquitted after protest at drag library event, fails to stop new trial

Derek Reimer, a street church pastor, was removed after disrupting a family-friendly Reading with Royalty event at the Seton Library event on Feb. 25, 2023. (Facebook/Ray Friesen)

A Calgary preacher who was arrested and charged following a protest at the Seton Library in 2023 will face a new trial, the Alberta Court of Appeal has ordered.

On Sept. 25, 2024, Derek Reimer was acquitted of mischief and causing a disturbance at the library’s Reading with Royalty, an event that featured local drag queen, king and monarch performers reading to children.

The Crown was allowed a new trial on both counts on appeal.

The preacher sought to appeal that decision, saying his conduct was not examined properly and did not deprive library users of enjoyment of the facility.

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According to court documents, Reimer entered the room where the event was being held on Feb. 25, 2023, and walked to the front of the room while shouting.

There were about 24 people in the room at the time, including several children.

“Some adults in attendance were visibly shaken and some children were crying. Library staff moved some children away from the applicant. One child grabbed his younger sibling, ran, and tried to leave. The facilitators, hoping to divert the children’s focus from the applicant’s activity, continued to sing and engage with the children,” said Justice Jolaine Antonio, the appeal judge who heard Reimer’s application on Oct. 22.

When Reimer allegedly refused to leave, the court said some of the adults present “forcibly ejected” him from the room.

The court said Reimer continued his protest outside the room, knocking on glass windows and talking loudly.

Reimer did not leave the premises until police arrived.

During proceedings last month, the appeal court denied his request, saying that neither argument was brought up before at trial.

“Given that the law would not distinguish between the library and its staff and users, it is not clear to me how the particularization of the charge could have affected the applicant’s defence or either judge’s analysis,” Antonio wrote in her reasons.

“It follows that the applicant has not satisfied me an appeal on the proposed ground would be reasonably arguable.”

Reimer is expected in court for a plea hearing on April 27, 2026.