The RCMP Officer who arrested and charged Grace Life pastor, James Coates — who is still sitting in prison today on charges of preaching the gospel — is an openly gay, God-hating homosexual who was invited to march in the NYC gay pride festival in 2019.

According to reports, Officer Mike Lokken was ecstatic after receiving cheers from people in NYC telling him how much they loved Canada and wanted to move there because of their celebration of sexual immorality. “When they would see us—particularly police officers, especially holding hands with somebody else—it was like being at a rock concert when a good song comes on and the cheer goes up,” Lokken said according to another report.

One must raise the question: is there a conflict of interest here since Lokken is an open, celebratory homosexual and Pastor James Coates clearly holds to a traditional, biblical view of sexuality which is opposed to sexual immorality?

James Coates was arrested after refusing to shut down his church and defying draconian government orders not to gather on Sunday mornings–a clear violation of his religious beliefs and conscience. Lokken, however, didn’t care. “There are many different discussions and considerations at play in relation to the GraceLife Church and their non-compliance,” Lokken said in a news release.

“We have ensured that the church is well aware of the conditions that they need to follow and they have been afforded repeated opportunities to comply. In collaboration with AHS, we have now followed up with escalated enforcement.”

It’s clear that Lokken’s department is a government sponsor of homosexuality as Lokken was allowed to represent the Royal Canadian Mounted Police while marching in uniform. One must ask, would a Royal Canadian officer be allowed to march in uniform at the March for Life and represent the government of Canada? Would he be allowed to stand on the street corner and preach the gospel in uniform at this gay pride festival? No, he wouldn’t be. So then, why would he be allowed to represent the government of Canada as clearly supporting homosexuality while being responsible for the arrest of Christians who oppose his beliefs?

Other groups are concerned about the legitimacy of the arrest and conflict of interest as well. One former RCMP Constable wrote in an open letter to Lokken,

…as high-profile members of Alberta’s LGBTQ community, you and Premier Kenney must be alive to your own community’s history of legal restrictions on the freedom of assembly, stemming back to the famed New York Stonewall Riots of 1969.  Despite the previous legal prohibitions on freedom of assembly for the LGBTQ community, I am sure that you both agree that civil disobedience is sometimes necessary when facing unjust laws.

…Sir, I can confidently say that in this case, not only has the administration of justice been brought into disrepute, but your command in this matter has also been brought into disrepute.  Despite the various competing demands and political pressures of law enforcement, you are always expected to uphold individual charter rights and freedoms without “fear, favour, or affection”.  The optics in this case are atrocious.