by Rhoda Wilson, Expose News:
On Thursday five policemen arrived at a 51-year-old former serviceman’s house in Aldershot to arrest him for sharing an image on Facebook that someone had reported to the police as having “caused anxiety.”
Ten days earlier, police had visited the army veteran and informed him that he could take the option of attending an £80 education course to avoid being arrested and possibly charged with a criminal offence. He told the police he needed time to mull it over. The officers agreed to return at a future date. After the first police visit, the veteran contacted Harry Miller, a former police officer, and Reclaim Party leader Lawrence Fox. Both were present when the police returned.
The former serviceman refused the offer of the educational course which led to his arrest. Miller placed himself between the officers and the veteran, saying: “You arrest him, you’ve got to come through me.” Miller was also arrested. Fox recorded videos of both arrests.
The veteran’s arrest comes less than a week after the College of Policing issued national guidance telling officers to focus on actual crimes rather than intervening in “debates on Twitter”.
In a statement on Friday, Donna Jones, police and crime commissioner for Hampshire, said: “When incidents on social media receive not one but two visits from police officers, but burglaries and non-domestic break-ins don’t always get a police response, something is wrong.”
Read more: Police Force is savaged by its crime commissioner over the arrest of army veteran for sharing an image posted by Laurence Fox, Daily Mail, 30 July 2022
This is not the only incidence of political policing in recent days. Women’s rights activist Posie Parker was visited at her home by Wiltshire Police and informed that she had committed a hate crime for using her YouTube channel to unduly criticise paedophiles.
Re-sharing of an Image Reported as Causing Anxiety
The arrest of the veteran related to an image tweeted by Lawrence Fox of a picture of a swastika made out of pride flags.
The image, which resulted in a Twitter suspension and calls for police investigations, was described by Fox as a commentary on how Pride Month is “enforced with a sense of hectoring authoritarianism.”
Despite the veteran saying that he had reposted the meme from Fox, the police chose not to arrest Fox for the same post.
Read more: Army Veteran Arrested by ‘Politicised Police’ for Posting LGBT Pride Flag Meme on Facebook, Breitbart, 30 July 2022
Miller, who was also arrested on Thursday, was previously investigated for alleged transphobic posts about transgender women. He challenged the actions of Humberside Police and the college guidance at the High Court. In 2020 a judge ruled the Force’s actions were a “disproportionate interference” with Miller’s right to freedom of expression but his challenge to the college was dismissed. In December 2021 the Court of Appeal found the guidance did breach his right to freedom of expression.
Further reading: Harry wins appeal against College of Policing, Fair Cop, 20 December 2021
Regarding Thursday’s arrest, Miller wrote:
On a hot Sunday morning in July, a police van pulls into a quiet English street and parks on the grass verge in the shade of a tree. Three officers, already sweating in their uniforms and stab vests, lumber into the neat, block-paved driveway of a domestic dwelling. Something is going down in this unremarkable corner of suburbia. All that is missing is the overhead helicopter and SO19 in position on the rooftops. The police gather on the porch and ring the bell. There is no need to be kicking down doors over a Facebook post.
They are here to investigate the image of a trans flag reimagined as a swastika and posted in a debating forum on social media. The homeowner, or suspect, is not the originator of the offending image — it’s been reposted thousands of times and even made an appearance on GB News — but this small detail does not trouble the officers. A crime has been committed. Section 127 of the Communications Act, to be precise, citing a definition from a different act, entirely.
The Facebook Police, Harry Miller, 28 July 2022
Fox’s Reclaim Party tweeted a video clip of the arrest:
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Leave a Reply