Scofflaw Aylmer pastor launches online fundraiser to pay $65K in fines

Firebrand local pastor Henry Hildebrandt has launched an online fundraiser to pay the $65,000 fine he was handed after pleading guilty to violating provincial pandemic rules.

Hildebrandt, who turned his Aylmer Church of God into a flashpoint for anti-restrictions protests during the COVID-19 pandemic, pleaded guilty in St. Thomas court on Thursday to hold a large in-person church service June 6, 2021.

He told justice of the peace Anna Marie Hampson he was “guilty of obeying God rather than men.”

Later, Hildebrandt conceded in the hearing broadcast via teleconference: “I am guilty of breaking the Ontario Reopening Act.”

Friday, the Church of God pastor launched an online fundraiser to cover the $65,000 fine, $13,000 of which he is required to pay as a victim surcharge.

“I’m not begging for your money, but if you would like to donate toward our recent $65,000 fine (many have asked) here is the link,” Hildebrandt wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The fundraiser had raised a little more than $3,851 US as of FSunday morning, drawing some comments on the page and social media praising him for “standing up” for his beliefs.

Hildebrandt was charged more than half a dozen times between January and June 2021 with violating provincial legislation that restricted indoor gatherings to 10 people and 25 outdoors.

The Aylmer church became an anti-restriction lightning rod, defying the law so often that in May 2021, a Superior Court judge ordered the church be temporarily locked up.

As a result of his guilty plea this week to the June gathering, all other charges against him, his family, the church, former politicians Randy Hillier and Derek Sloan and other church members were dropped.

After the sentencing, Hildebrandt posted a five-minute video to X recounting the hearing and sharing his reaction to the decision. He vowed to always “obey God rather than men, regardless of the circumstances.”

“Did I make mistakes? Could we have done better in some situations? Of course,” he said, adding, “We now have the privilege of hindsight and our position on the pandemic.”

Hildebrandt did not respond to a request for comment Friday.