Charges dropped against restaurant that refused to shut down or use vaccine passports during COVID lockdowns

A restaurant that refused to shut down during COVID-19 restrictions and didn't require documentation of vaccination had its charges dropped after finally getting its day in court.

The crown dropped charges against Jesse Johnson, owner of Without Papers Pizza, after just 10 minutes of action in the courtroom, Media Bezirgan reported.

The Calgary, Canada, business faced shutdowns and charges from the Alberta provincial government after it refused to close while also declining to participate in Canada's vaccine passport program, which required two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to eat indoors at restaurants.

"These bastards, they literally tried to break me — financially, mentally, and spiritually," Johnson told reporters following the dismissal, adding that "it was not me that broke the law, but the law itself."

Greeted by the cheers of a crowd outside the courthouse, Johnson said that he would "love to go back and provide the love and pizza that we gave to all the people of Calgary regardless of vaccination status."

The business owner noted that he planned to sue the government, a lawsuit noted by the company on its website:

"Without Papers Pizza is pursuing a civil suit against the City of Calgary & Alberta Health Services in regards to the vaccine passport (City of Calgary Bylaw 65M2021) and the illegal closure of Without Papers Pizza for refusing to discriminate its customers," the front page stated.

A total of 30 minutes were spent simply waiting for documentation to arrive before the charges were quickly dropped, according to a lawyer involved with the case.

"The judge dismissed all of the charges against Jesse and Without Papers," said attorney Chad Williamson. "Kudos to Jesse for standing up to the tyranny of government overreach."

"The biggest issue that remains — and this is the elephant in the room — is that so many people have lost their businesses as a result of unconstitutional and unlawful acts by the government in enforcing these disgusting COVID mandates," Williamson continued.

"There are civil actions brewing, I know that there's a massive civil action brewing, a class action."

The restauranteur said that if it weren't for his belief in Christ and peers who supported him, he would have been broken by the government's restrictions.

"The millions who rose up to defend our rights and freedoms in this great great land, we need to pray to Jesus Christ to offer us forgiveness and to give us the light to fight further into the future."

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