UK Pastor Steve Maile Faces Section 5 Charge After 12-Hour Detention Over Islam Street Preaching
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 17
UK Pastor Steve Maile Faces Section 5 Charge After 12-Hour Detention Over Islam Street Preaching
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 17
Steve Maile, 66, said he remains on bail and under investigation after his April 18 arrest in Watford while preaching about Islam and urging Muslims to follow Jesus.
Hertfordshire Police said officers arrested him on suspicion of assault and a Section 5 public order offense; the assault allegation was later dropped, but the public order probe continues.
Video shows officers handcuffing Maile after a complaint, with police alleging racially or religiously aggravated disorderly behavior under a law covering words likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Maile said he was held for 12 hours, denied restroom access, suffered wrist injuries requiring splints for 3 weeks, and could wait up to a year for the case to reach a judge.
The Christian Legal Centre, which is backing him, called the arrest deeply troubling and said the case raises wider questions about whether public-order policing is criminalizing Christian preaching.
With a new UK anti-Muslim hostility policy, where is the legal line now drawn between street preaching and criminal hate speech?
As UK police adopt 'counterinsurgency' tactics, are aggressive arrests of street preachers the new normal for maintaining public order?