Street Preacher Arrested After Lesbian Offended

Source: Catholic Confidential

A street preacher in Basildon, England was approached by officers, interrogated in the street, and then arrested.

Evangelist Rob Hughes was accused of a hate crime when someone heard him say “homosexuality is sinful.” Police advised that such speech was a violation of the Public Order Act, Section 5, which bans “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior, or disorderly behavior” or the display of “any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting” within earshot of sight of a person “likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.”

Hughes was finger-printed and held in a cell. His friend, Andrew Noble, had also been interrogated but not arrested. Noble promptly contacted the Christian legal organization Christian Concern to request emergency assistance.

After spending several hours in jail, Rob Hughes was released and the charges were dropped. Hughes says that Christian street preachers in England are facing a situation where they are now becoming ‘presumed guilty until found to be innocent.’

Christian News reported on a similar incident, which occurred in July of this year. In that incident, an evangelist named Tony Miano, from the U.S., was arrested and jailed after speaking against sexual immorality on the streets of London. He expressed worry that hate crime legislation is being leveraged to shut down public Christian discourse.

Read the full post at Catholic Confidential: “Street Preacher Arrested …”