Four people have been charged in connection with a large gathering at the Church of God Restoration in Aylmer Tuesday night.
Aylmer police went to the John Street North church around 8:30 p.m. after receiving a complaint about a gathering. When officers arrived they counted 18 vehicles in the parking lot.
As police were speaking with two individuals outside, a group of 18 people were seen coming out of the church. None of them were wearing masks or social distancing, police said.
Two Aylmer men, aged 34 and 20, a 42-year-old man from North York, and a 41-year-old woman from Scarborough are charged with failing to comply with a continued section 7.0.2 order under the Reopening Ontario Act.
Under Ontario's current public health restrictions religious gatherings are limited to ten people. Face coverings must also be worn and physical distance maintained.
The investigation into Tuesday's gathering is ongoing with additional charges expected, police said.
The Church of God Restoration and its pastor Henry Hildebrandt have gained notoriety throughout the pandemic for repeatedly defying the province’s COVID-19 lockdown rules. Charges were laid against two church officials on February 1 for hosting a gathering exceeding the number permitted under the Reopening Ontario Act. Police called the nearly hour and a half long service, which was streamed on Hildebrandt's YouTube channel, a “clear contravention of emergency orders.”
A week prior to that, nearly 50 church parishioners were ticketed for participating in a defiant in-door service.
Hildebrandt has also been a staple at so-called freedom marches and protests throughout the province, often appearing as one of the keynote speakers.
