CALGARY—Moments before William Whatcott turned himself in to Calgary police Friday morning, the anti-LGBTQ activist wanted on Canada-wide warrants for promotion of hatred said he regretted nothing.

Whatcott is accused of distributing 3,000 pamphlets containing “hateful content” to attendees at Pride Toronto’s 2016 parade. The warrant for his arrest, issued this spring, has been hailed as a positive step by LGBTQ advocates.

“I have absolutely no apologies to make,” Whatcott told a crowd of roughly 30 supporters outside Calgary police headquarters Friday morning — some of whom wore T-shirts for the anti-Muslim group Worldwide Coalition Against Islam.

Whatcott also attempted to hand out a stack of flyers warning of “homosexual inspired oppression,” which he said were identical to the ones related to the warrant for his arrest, to passersby. Meanwhile, his supporters prayed and gave short speeches, by turns denouncing the LGBTQ community, the media and Muslims.

Whatcott — who described himself in previous court proceedings as a “Christian activist” who formerly “engaged in same-sex sexual activity” — has consistently denied doing anything criminal.

After the 2016 Toronto Pride Parade, Whatcott was the subject of a $103-million class-action lawsuit alleging hate speech directed at the LGBTQ community. Last March, an Ontario Superior Court judge said the suit wouldn’t stand as a class-action, but that those who filed it could pursue individual lawsuits against Whatcott.

He’s also the subject of a human-rights discrimination complaint in British Columbia.

According to human-rights tribunal documents, Whatcott allegedly distributed flyers disparaging transgender rights advocate Morgane Oger during the spring 2017 B.C. election, when Oger was running as the NDP candidate for Vancouver-False Creek.

Whatcott allegedly wrote that Oger is unfit to work as a politician because she’s transgender, expressing concerns about the “growth of homosexuality and transvestitism.” He has argued his conduct was protected by the Charter rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Pride Toronto executive director Olivia Nuamah previously told StarMetro that the charge against Whatcott is a “positive” step, noting that the arrest and prosecution rates for hate crimes against LGBTQ people are low.

And Jeremy Dias, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, has said police need to do more to discourage anti-LGBTQ activists from disrupting Pride festivities. Dias, who attended the 2016 parade, said the pamphlets were “reprehensible.”

“We really need police services to take these actions more seriously,” Dias said. “If you’re breaking the law and conducting hate speech, then that’s a problem ... It should be prosecuted, period. No questions asked.”

Police looked for Whatcott in several provinces, including B.C., StarMetro previously reported. Though Whatcott and his wife, Jadranka, used to live in New Westminster, B.C., they now live in Alberta.

Speaking from his car Thursday, en route to Calgary with his wife, Whatcott said he expects Toronto police will come to Calgary to bring him back to Ontario to face the charge.

“I’m not sad for anything I did,” said Whatcott. “Yeah, it’s violent. Yeah, there’s a lot of homosexuals in jail. But, yeah, I also have the father, the son and the holy spirit, and I’m prepared to suffer for my convictions.”

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In an interview Wednesday, Jadranka Whatcott said she stands by her husband and will remain in Calgary for a few days for protests and demonstrations related to his case.

“We haven’t discussed what to do after yet.”

With files from Michael Mui and Tess Vikander, StarMetro Vancouver

Emma McIntosh is an environment, justice and investigative reporter with StarMetro Calgary. Follow her on Twitter at @EmmaMci

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