An Irish citizen named Pat Sweeney who last week filmed Irish police entering a Catholic Church and breaking up a Sunday Mass due to Covid lockdowns. The video went viral and international for obvious reasons.
Ireland has undertaken perhaps the most extreme lockdowns outside of China, including banning on Sunday services.
Just one week later, police raided the home of Pat Sweeney, the man who taped the police. Sweeney reportedly woke at 3:30 a.m. to find his bed surrounded by police. The police said that they’d received a call from someone who was worried about his mental health and they were performing a “health and wellness” check on him. Sweeney once again, smartly videotaped much of the interaction. Sweeney was detained and his children were taken from him.
Amazingly, even as they take his children the police insist that they are treating him with “the utmost dignity.”
SHOCKING 🚨 Man who video recorded the Irish police (Garda) storming a church in Athlone last week has had a police raid at his home at 3.30am in the morning today. pic.twitter.com/Rg4vat39Av
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) May 3, 2021
The police insist they must check if he needs medical assistance and they will be taking him away in the dead of night, away from his children.
What looks like a Garda Superintendent says “We have dealt with you with the utmost dignity here tonight”. pic.twitter.com/GBu0VIh0C0
— Philip Dwyer (@PhilipDwyerNP) May 2, 2021
Here, after being released, Pat Sweeney can be seen futilely arguing with an unseen figure behind a glass partition to return his children to him. “I want my children back!” he yells.
Nothing happens.
The man who filmed the Athlone Church being shut down by Gardai is currently down in Longford garda station trying to get his children back after a malicious phone call was made pic.twitter.com/DdCpBPyPZT
— Free Mind IRE (@ire_free) May 2, 2021
In the next video he has a representative talking to an unseen officer behind a glass partition. He’s saying Sweeney would just like to know where his children are. The officer simply tells him that if he’d like to make an appointment with the superintendent he can do that. An appointment!? They won’t even tell him where his children are.
— Dubs life (@dubslife1) May 3, 2021
No charges were filed against Sweeney and the police officer speaking to Sweeney’s representative tells him that he has no idea why he was brought in at all. This gets murkier and murkier.
Another man, Philip Dwyer, who was called by Sweeney gave a sad update. Sweeney still doesn’t have his children returned to him. In fact, they were given to the children’s mother and he is not being allowed access to them.
And the bottom video is Dwyer telling us that Pat Sweeney got a chance to say goodbye to his children because their mother was taking them on a ferry to France.
Final update tonight on #PatSweeney and his 2 children. Thanks to you all for your support. pic.twitter.com/f2MrU2quL8
— Philip Dwyer (@PhilipDwyerNP) May 3, 2021
Very sad and surreal for #PatSweeney who finally got to say goodbye to his boys at Dublin Port before they boarded a ferry for France with their mother. https://t.co/bUzMWi8nT8
— Philip Dwyer (@PhilipDwyerNP) May 4, 2021
This is exactly what the police likely intended. This is head on a pike thuggery. Sweeney’s sad story is an example of what will happen to you if you push back against the state closing down churches. The lesson being taught is to kneel to the state, not God.
As long as you do that the police will leave you alone. Until they don’t.
