Canadian church fighting $2,500 fine for hosting Sean Feucht

A church in Montreal, Quebec, is fighting the $2,500 ticket the city government slapped on them in July for hosting activist missionary and worship leader Sean Feucht without a permit.

Ministerios Restauración Church, a Spanish-speaking congregation in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, has pleaded not guilty to violating a city bylaw when they offered their church to Feucht after Montreal and other Canadian cities canceled stops in his “Revive in 25” tour.

The church’s attorneys, who are being funded by The Democracy Fund, have appealed the ticket in both municipal court and the Quebec Superior Court, alleging the city government abused its power and violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to a press release earlier this month.

The city of Montreal declined The Christian Post’s request for comment, citing ongoing litigation.

The appeal asks for the fine to be expunged, a declaration that the church has a right to conduct prayer and musical worship, and $10,000 in damages for alleged violation of Charter rights.

“This is the first step in defending the Church and ensuring that Christians in Canada have the same rights to freely and peacefully worship as anyone else,” TDF litigation director Mark Joseph said in a statement.

“TDF-funded lawyers expect to argue at Superior Court that both the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee these rights.”

Often citing “public safety concerns,” eight cities in Canada canceled tour stops this summer by Feucht, an outspoken Trump supporter who has denounced abortion, transgender ideology and homosexuality.

When Feucht’s initial tour stop in Montreal was canceled in July and the city fined the church for hosting him, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante’s office said they issued the punishment to the congregation because they platformed Feucht despite objections from the city government regarding his opinions.

“This show runs counter to the values of inclusion, solidarity, and respect that are championed in Montreal,” a spokesperson for the mayor said in a statement to the National Post at the time. “Freedom of expression is one of our fundamental values, but hateful and discriminatory speech is not acceptable in Montreal.”

“A ticket was issued because the organization violated the regulations by going ahead with the show,” the spokesperson added.

Feucht’s appearance at the church, which was interrupted by a smoke bomb, drew heavy armed police presence, and officers arrested a 38-year-old protester at the event for obstruction.

Feucht, who performed worship music last Sunday during the vigil for the late Charlie Kirk at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., warned in July of growing anti-Christian sentiment among Canadian authorities.

“Here’s the hard truth: If I had shown up with purple hair and a dress, claiming to be a woman, the government wouldn’t have said a word. But to publicly profess deeply held Christian beliefs is to be labeled an extremist — and to have a free worship event classified as a public safety risk,” Feucht said.

Feucht rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for launching his “Let Us Worship” movement in protest of government-enforced church lockdowns. Canada drew international scrutiny during the pandemic when multiple pastors were jailed in the country for holding church services in defiance of ongoing lockdown orders.