The British police have picked a side 🇵🇸

Leave a CommentThe British police have picked a side 🇵🇸Food for Thought, Global

Free speech does not have the same primacy under British law as it does in the United States, particularly for critics of anti-Western causes. One Briton received a harsh reminder of this fact Tuesday, being hauled off by police after daring to criticize the myriad Palestinian flags flown around his neighborhood.

Metropolitan Police have confirmed they arrested a man Tuesday at 9:55 p.m. on “suspicion of a racially aggravated Section 5 public order offence,” just days after around 70,000 anti-Israel protesters marched through the streets of London.

A person violates Section 5 of the Public Order Act of 1986 if they employ “threatening or abusive words or behaviour, or disorderly behavior, or … displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening or abusive within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.”

The same section has been used to penalize critics of LGBT activism.

To be acquitted, the accused must prove that they had no reason to believe a thin-skinned person was within earshot and that his conduct was reasonable.

While normally a Section 5 conviction would land an individual with a fine of roughly $1,212, a racial aggravation enhancement could result in the fine’s multiplication by 2.5 times. Should prosecutors successfully conflate criticism of the Palestinian flag with religious hatred, then the accused could face up to seven years in prison.

Metropolitan Police officers apparently attempted to arrest the flag critic earlier but found that he wasn’t home. Undeterred, they tried again successfully, then carted him off to an east London police station where he remained until at least noontime Wednesday.

“We take all allegations of hate crime incredibly seriously. Where offences have taken place, our officers are attending, supporting victims and making arrests — and we will continue to do so,” the police explained.

In footage of the Tuesday night arrest, a Metropolitan Police officer can be heard referencing a Oct. 17 incident where the arrestee, identified as John, was supposedly seen on Bethnal Green Road in the east end of London questioning why Palestinian migrants critical of the West were being admitted to the United Kingdom.

John appears to have recorded his actual remarks.

“Just come along Bethnal Green Road this morning and this is the kind of s**t that’s going on,” says John, zooming in on various Palestinian flags on lampposts and out front of storefronts along the street. “Look at that. This is what we’re dealing with. … This is the kind of crap that we’re dealing with.”

“You let ’em into the country and this is the s**t they come up with,” John added.

After the officer noted that these criticisms were at issue, he handcuffed John in front of his distraught wife, reportedly dying of stage-4 cancer.

John’s sick wife expressed disbelief that her husband was being arrested over saying “something in the street about Hamas, a terrorist organization.”

John was unapologetic during his arrest, reiterating that the flags in his neighborhood were “absolutely disgusting,” before being marched outside.

More here: https://www.theblaze.com/news/british-police-arrest-elderly-man-who-criticized-the-palestinian-flags-hoisted-around-his-neighborhood

Meanwhile the UK Home Secretary says she’s going to focus on priorities