A Christian street preacher was reportedly referred to the UK’s counter-terrorism police after saying that a so-called “transwoman” was really a “man in woman’s clothing”.
David McConnell, a Christian preacher, had already been convicted of “harassment” in a British court of law over the incident last year, with the preacher being sentenced to a 12-month community order with 80 hours unpaid work after saying that the transgender individual was really a “gentleman” and a “man in woman’s clothing”.
The Christian man had been preaching at the time of the incident, with his sermons reportedly resulting in him being abused, assaulted, and even having some of his belongings stolen by passers-by, before being arrested by British law enforcement seemingly over his decision to espouse his religious beliefs.
Things did not end there, however, with a report by the Daily Mail revealing on Tuesday that the Christian man was also reported to the UK’s Prevent counter-terrorism programme over his views, which were deemed to be sufficiently radical for them to be contacted.
According to McConnell’s probation officer, the man was “viewed to be persistently and illegally espousing an extreme point of view” with his preaching, prompting the government official to “routinely” liaise with counter-terrorism police.
The revelation has outraged many Christians in the country, many of whom have already expressed shock over McConnell’s conviction for preaching his Christian beliefs.
“This case represents a disturbing trend in our society which is seeing members of the public and professionals being prosecuted and reported as potential terrorists for refusing to celebrate and approve LGBTQ ideology,” Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre reportedly said regarding the case.
“The Bible teaches clearly that we are born male and female; this belief and the freedom to express it in public without fear of being arrested or reported as a terrorist to Prevent must be protected,” she went on to say.
The Daily Mail goes on to report that McConnell is in the process of appealing his 2021 conviction.
‘Populist Conservatives’ Funnelled Into UK Anti-Terror Programme at Expense of Radical Islamist Referrals, Review Finds https://t.co/xC4AAGDTtb
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 9, 2023
Although disturbing for many Christians, the idea that the UK’s counter-terrorism initiatives were involved in the processing of a Christian street preacher is relatively unsurprising considering the state of British law enforcement.
For example, a recent report found that the Prevent programme aimed at curbing terrorism in the country was disproportionally focusing on ephemeral right-wing threats to public security, to the point that officers had repeatedly overlooked threats arising from radical Islam, seemingly out of fear of being labelled racist.
The country is also now regularly cracking down on the practice of the Christian faith as a whole, with politicians writing to the Church of England demanding it change its doctrine on gay marriage, while those who dare to silently pray in the general vicinity of abortion clinics frequently face arrest for the thought crime.
Britain’s court system was forced to clear two pro-life Christians of wrongdoing last month after police arrested them for engaging in silent prayer near an abortion facility due to the fact that law enforcement was unable to provide sufficient evidence they were doing anything wrong.
However, one of those cleared by the court, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, has since reportedly been arrested again by police for silent prayer outside a facility.
‘Engaging in Prayer Is The Offence’ — Pro-Life Activist Arrested for Silently Praying Outside Abortion Facilityhttps://t.co/ISXMQA8iGw
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 7, 2023
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