He was released in late March. The GraceLife Church was shut down and a fence was built around it by health and police officials last week . Pastor Coates said that his church has been targeted because it embarrassed the authoritarian government by showing that its lockdown measures are harmful and unnecessary.

Pastor Coates said that it is clear that the people of the Province of Alberta want to return to life as usual and the excuse that it is a health issue is false and that Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is following an agenda that is detrimental to the people. Coates stated that the only way that people will return to normal is to take back their power, in a peaceful way. He said that when people stop complying, the pandemic policies will go away.