Thread by @antihateca

THREAD:

We’ll be tweeting what we see today at #GraceLife church in Spruce Grove, AB. A number of known hatemongers are expected to show up today to protest the closure of pastor James Coates’ church.

/1

#ableg #cdnmedia

We wrote a quick primer on some of the people expected to show yesterday:

/2

https://twitter.com/antihateca/status/1380649314402336769

Background: Coates was jailed in March for refusing to follow AHS guidelines of 15% capacity, masking and social distancing.

He continued to flout the restrictions, so a fence was erected around the property.

globalnews.ca/news/7742895/e…
/3

Back to today, we start off with a short clip from Kevin Johnston and Derek Storie, who are upset with Coates. They say Coates is calling people and asking them to not come to the church property.

/4

Johnston calls Coates selfish, says this isn’t about him (Coates), chastises him for not being more accepting of their presence, and asks “what would Jesus do.”

This was never about GraceLife or Coates; they’re just the latest flashpoint.

/5

If Coates is asking them not to come, that is a new development. This statement issued to @CarlyDRobinson does not indicate that would happen:

/6

https://twitter.com/CarlyDRobinson/status/1380685498390212609?s=20

Johnston and Storie are harassing all members of mainstream media, getting in their faces and being generally aggressive.

Storie claims they are "laughing at" them.

Johnston claims journalists will make fake assault allegations.

/7

Protesters are now jeering members of the media.

/8

A common complaint from the protesters and their supporters is that mosques aren't under the same restrictions.

Numerous similar comments have been seen over the last few days.

/9

Lonnie, who was present with Johnston and Storie when Johnston assaulted the grocery store owner in Dawson Creek, BC is there and streaming.

/10
antihate.ca/citizens_arres…

Johnston is streaming and saying that Liberals are "pro-pedophilia and anti-Canada."

None of this has anything to do with a church closure. They are simply using this quite literal pulpit for their own messaging.

/11

Someone off camera mentions "this is how you enforce communism, dude."

Many comments about this being "the next step of communism" have been spotted on social media in the last few days in their spaces.

/12

They are facing off against cops now.

Heard on the stream: "We stand beside you when Black Lives Matter wants to defund you and you do this!"

Numerous cries that the pandemic is fake.

/13

It's worth mentioning at this point that Johnston and others have claimed things will really pop off today. They expect violence.

The cops have been patient so far, but the general vibe is tense.

/14

Some of the recent comments on the stream we're watching:

/15

Protester to cops: "if the communist flag goes up tomorrow will you be here tomorrow? Trudeay says we are the first "post nation state," isn't that treason?"

/16

Protester continues: "We're on your side, before the red flag goes up."

Says the blue helmets (of the UN) are coming.

Talks about George Soros.

/17

The feed cut out and went to Johnston's Instagram, where he's encouraging people to get armed and buy ammunition.

/18

On another stream by Chief Billy Morin protesters are being told to leave as it's Indigenous land. Someone replies "We all identify as First Nations."

facebook.com/billy.morin.35…

/19

Morin says his vehicle was vandalized.

He says he is trying to tell people to leave. "This is not public, this is First Nation. You aren't allowed to park wherever you want."

It's a tense scene.

/20

We've now moved into the obligatory "We're Not Gonna Take It" rendition portion of the event. It's a strange piano version.

/21

Johnston just called journalists "vultures and maggots," complaining that they're still there. He then tells someone to get him a stick so he can throw it and see if they chase after it.

/22

He's continuing on, saying that CBC and media "attacks the family unit." His feed is then shut off immediately due to IG's time limit, which he will no doubt claim is an attack on the family unit by the CBC.

/23

It was undoubtedly an anti-LGBTQ+ screed. He was cut off right as he said "heteros..."

/24

Johnston is now trying to whip the crowd up, gets back in a journalist's face, and demands he comment.

He now has a megaphone.

/25

"We're not going to talk about these guys anymore," Johnston says, referring to the media.

Let's hope!

/26

Johnston is praising @Twitch for not taking down his streams and being "very stable."

/27

He used @Twitch @TwitchSupport to threaten and harass everyone with @AHS_media - and their families - for being employed with AHS and enforcing pandemic regulations.

Says they've never banned him. Twitch should fix this.
/kevinjjohnston

https://twitter.com/captcanuck6/status/1381023073852391430?s=21

/28

Johnston just said "I'd take up arms against Justin Trudeau."

/29

"This is tyranny, this is marxism." - Johnston

/30

A protester asks the cops if they would have done what they were told in Nazi Germany. There have been numerous comparisons to Nazi Germany.

/31

Mark Friesen claims that the cops "pulled the younger guys" and replaced them with older ones because "the younger guys were listening."

/32

This is largely how they reconcile their cognitive dissonance. They love cops, but they are against them - to cope with that, they push the idea that it's not the cops, it's their *bosses* and the cops are just following orders, just like in Nazi Germany.

/33

If you've been following us this far and aren't a monthly supporter already, please consider becoming one at antihate.ca/donate.

/34

Johnston is goading his trolls to sue him, other feeds are not great, so as we search please enjoy the CERB hold music from 2020.



/35

Our board member @ARCCollective is also tweeting about GraceLife:

https://twitter.com/ARCCollective/status/1381295454097338372?s=20

/36

This is definitely not about a church.

/37

People are pulling on the fence yelling "people protected you!" (presumably at the police, but it's unclear).

/38

Part of the fence went down, and people started chanting to leave the fence alone. It's back up (for now).

Johnston is worried the media will "play this the wrong way."

Some of them are very concerned with optics.

/39

People are getting more and more agitated about the fence and the cops. It's a tense vibe.

A protester yelled at Johnston because he doesn't want the fence taken down. Someone yelled it was "antifa."

Comments are encouraging more action.

/40

People are yelling to tear the fence down, getting angry at Johnston for "doubletalk."

People are yelling "let's tear the fence down!"

/41

Johnston - "I believe that violence is a solution but it's the last solution."

Someone named Chris is very angry with Johnston. Chris is who accused Johnston of "doubletalk."

/42

Here's a clip of Chief Billy Morin dealing with these protesters:

https://twitter.com/cspotweet/status/1381301400764772356?s=20

/43

Here's footage of when they tried to pull the fence down.

The fence was put back up.

/44

https://twitter.com/LauraKrauseNews/status/1381308395349712897

In the comments of one stream people are claiming that Chris Saccoccia had cops on his tail as he left Winnipeg. He's en route to Alberta and will be there later today.

/45

Derek Storie: "This is like Auschwitz."

/46

We don't normally link to far-right content but this has to be seen. This is a live from an hour ago when the fence was taken down and put back up. Everyone's yelling at each other.

facebook.com/WhatsUpCanadia…

/47

Threats to post photographs of the people who pulled the fence down are being heard, because some people think they are antifascists and agitators.

We have not heard of *any* counters to this, or opposition at all.

/48

Heavy booing and jeering at the cops now, cries of "go home, we don't want you here!"

Some sirens are going off.

There's a heavy police presence.

/49

A protester in a red toque just walked into the cops in what looked like an attempt to agitate them. He was pulled away.

/50

Anyway, this is all still going on.

If you're still with us so far and appreciate our work please consider a donation here: antihate.ca/donate

/51

Johnston claims to have been grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by someone. We have not yet verified what happened.

A cop advises Johnston the man is free to go as he's a police officer.

As a reminder, we want everyone to get through the day without injury.

/52

A commenter in the livestream said "Kevin you purposely stood in front of him so he would bump into you he didn’t grab you"

The cop was in plain clothes.

Again, we don't know what happened yet, but Johnston is attempting to use his "mayoral candidate" schtick.

/53

Johnston just said "CBC hired an undercover police officer to protect them" indicating that this had something to do with a media interaction.

/54

Seems like things are wrapping up now so we're going to sign off. We'll keep an eye on things for the next little bit.

Thanks for sticking with us.

/55

Update:

https://twitter.com/antihateca/status/1381417518481440770