The United Kingdom is really making it clear lately that they don't have a First Amendment. Multiple people have been arrested for praying silently across the street from an abortion clinic. No bullhorn, no signs, just silent prayer. And Scotland passed a hate speech law that makes it a crime to criticize migrants, or even have a meme on your phone.
Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson had police visit her home after a complaint about a year-old deleted tweet. What did she say? Who turned her in? The BBC reports in a piece with a warning that the article contains language that some people may find offensive:
The BBC has seen the now-deleted post that the police complaint relates to, which dates from 16 November last year. It shows an image of two police officers standing next to two men holding what appears to be a flag of the Pakistani political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The post tags the Metropolitan Police alongside the words “how dare they”.
It adds: “Invited to pose for a photo with lovely peaceful British Friends of Israel on Saturday police refused. Look at this lot smiling with the Jew haters.”
Here's what Pearson has to say for herself:
The story so far.
— Allison Pearson (@AllisonPearson) November 16, 2024
1. I am not a racist.
2. I didn’t post a racist tweet.
3. My tweet did not incite violence against any protected characteristic.
4. My fairly innocuous tweet was deleted a year ago.
5. Senior lawyers say my tweet does “not come near the threshold for criminal…
5. Senior lawyers say my tweet does “not come near the threshold for criminal prosecution”.
6. But Essex Police upgraded the accusation from Non-Crime Hate Incident to offence under the Public order Act. Why?
7. Essex Police visited my home but refused to specify either the accusation or the accuser.
8. Under pressure, Essex Police deployed the terrorist-fighting Gold Command to investigate a solitary Welsh journalist 5ft 4 inches who still believes in freedom of speech. Weird, I know.
9. This is all nonsense. Deeply sinister, frightening nonsense and wholly disproportionate police over-reach if you ask me.
10. Last night, I realised I no longer feel safe in my own country. A terrible moment.
As Elon Musk said, “This must stop.” It really must.
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The BBC reports that police are defending their actions: "In a statement, Essex Police said officers 'went to a residential address to arrange a time to do an interview with a woman about a complaint made by a member of the public'”.
This didn't happen overnight. It took years and years for people on the Left to construct the censorship machinery that inevitably led to police knocking on a journalist's door for something she posted on social media.
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) November 16, 2024
These bigots HATE that you might think differently and… pic.twitter.com/MSiPAevrAx
… and NOTHING will change their thinking until the Right grabs hold of this machinery and turns it on them.
They almost succeeded in America and would have done the same thing here if @realDonaldTrump had not won https://t.co/kuE1ulPgyG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2024
The Left will never stop. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 16, 2024
People don't realize how close we got. They think something like this could never happen, then one day you get a knock on your door...
— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) November 16, 2024
They can’t define what hate is so then anything you say can be considered it.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) November 16, 2024
See how that works?
We came so close to a dystopian nightmare; it's wild. We were on the precipice of an Orwellian future.
— GodParticles (@G0DParticles) November 16, 2024
I pray I can move to the US in 2025. The UK is in big trouble and I'm surrounded by people who welcome these changes. I'd rather live amongst people who share my values 🇬🇧✈️🇺🇸
— mustLearnMore (@mustLearnMore) November 16, 2024
Can anything be put in place in the next four years to prevent this from happening in the future? Or will we constantly face this same type of threat every 4-8 years?
— BowTiedBroke (@BowTiedBroke) November 16, 2024
Candidate Kamala Harris told a stunned Jake Tapper that people "are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without oversight." And her running mate Tim Walz said that freedom of speech doesn't come with a guarantee of disinformation or hate speech.
It’s been a slow, steady march toward control, and now the consequences are showing.
— Men's Blueprint 📃 (@NextGenMales) November 16, 2024
The system they built won’t be easy to dismantle, but the pendulum is swinging.
If we don’t take charge of this machinery, it’ll only tighten. Time to play hardball.
What is happening in Britain is a humiliation on the world. They should be ashamed of this.
— Bob Starr (@Bobisheretohelp) November 16, 2024
The problem is that there is no punishment for government agents who violate our rights. The American people need their own police to protect them and go after the government when their rights are violated.
— William Wallace (@Capa800) November 16, 2024
The U.K. government even threatened to extradite and arrest Elon Musk for inciting British rioters with his posts.
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