{"id":1583058,"date":"2022-08-01T15:31:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T19:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1583058"},"modified":"2022-08-01T15:32:16","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T19:32:16","slug":"british-veteran-arrested-at-home-under-uk-censorship-laws-after-reposting-lgbt-meme-that-caused-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/british-veteran-arrested-at-home-under-uk-censorship-laws-after-reposting-lgbt-meme-that-caused-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"British Veteran Arrested At Home Under UK Censorship Laws After Reposting LGBT Meme That \u2018Caused Anxiety\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbritish-veteran-arrested-at-home-under-uk-censorship-laws-after-reposting-lgbt-meme-that-caused-anxiety%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1583058&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>British veteran Darren Brady <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-11066477\/Veteran-arrested-causing-anxiety-retweeting-meme-swastika-Pride-flags.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> Hampshire police were \u201cimpeding his right to free speech\u201d by tracking him down for reposting a meme featuring the LGBT \u201cpride\u201d flag arranged in the shape of a swastika. <\/p>\n<p>In viral footage of the arrest taken by political activist Laurence Fox who created the meme, officers tell the 51-year-old at his residence in Aldershot that \u201csomeone has been caused anxiety based on your social media post. That is why you have been arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><\/figure>\n<p>A spokeswoman for the Hampshire Constabulary told The Federalist that officers confronted Brady following a report \u201cthat an offensive image had been shared online.\u201d It is unclear who filed the report but officers visited Brady\u2019s home to \u201cestablish the exact circumstances around the social media post.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Harry Miller, a former police officer and Bad Law Project CEO who was also arrested, said police first tried to \u201cextort\u201d Brady by demanding he \u201cpay around \u00a380 for educational course so he could downgrade from a crime to a non-crime, which would still show up in a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why when officers promised to return on July 28 to hear Brady\u2019s final answer about \u201cre-education,\u201d both Fox and Miller were on the scene to document what Miller dubbed the \u201cworld\u2019s worst shakedown.\u201d When officers arrived at Brady\u2019s house for a second time, the police spokeswoman said \u201cthey were prevented from entering the address to discuss a potential resolution to the matter.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a result, officers felt it was necessary to arrest a man at the scene so they could interview him in relation to the alleged offence,\u201d the spokeswoman continued. She also said a 57-year-old man, whom the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-11066477\/Veteran-arrested-causing-anxiety-retweeting-meme-swastika-Pride-flags.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Mail<\/a> identified as Miller, was \u201carrested on suspicion of obstructing\/resisting a constable in execution of duty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was released under investigation, and our enquiries are ongoing. Due to this being a live investigation we cannot comment further,\u201d the spokeswoman said. <\/p>\n<p>Officers claimed to be \u201cinvestigating an alleged offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act (2003),\u201d a sweeping law that gives the United Kingdom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2003\/21\/section\/127\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">government the authority to imprison someone<\/a> if officials deem his online posts \u201cgrossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character,\u201d or if he knowingly makes a false post \u201cfor the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The spokeswoman made it clear that \u201cno further action is being taken\u201d against Brady but maintains that officers \u201ccome to work every day to protect the public\u201d and were \u201cacting in good faith\u201d when they singled out Brady. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are engaging further with our police and crime commissioner to make sure that we deploy our resource in a way that reflects need in our local communities,\u201d she concluded. <\/p>\n<p>Donna Jones, the Hampshire police and crime commissioner, issued a statement criticizing her own force and voicing concern \u201cabout both the proportionality and necessity of the police\u2019s response to this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen incidents on social media receive not one but two visits from police officers, but burglaries and non-domestic break-ins don\u2019t always get a police response, something is wrong,\u201d Jones <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-england-hampshire-62352502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> before promising to write the College of Policing asking for \u201cgreater clarification\u201d on how police should respond \u201cmore appropriately in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That hasn\u2019t stopped free speech critics such as Caroline Russell, a member of the Police and Crime Committee in the Greater London Authority, from demanding police \u201clook into Laurence Fox using pride flags to create nazi imagery and posting the images on a public platform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a hate crime,\u201d Russell <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarolineRussell\/status\/1541403577402331137\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tweeted<\/a>. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire and Fox News. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordanboydtx.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-comments mt-30 mt-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-comments-container d-flex flex-column align-items-center py-30\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"106\" src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/fdrlst-mark.svg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-20\" alt=\"The Federalist logo eagle mark\" \/>    <\/p>\n<p>Unlock commenting by joining the Federalist Community.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/plans\/pricing\/\" class=\"btn btn-on-white\">Subscribe<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>British veteran Darren Brady said Hampshire police were \u201cimpeding his right to free speech\u201d by tracking him down for reposting a meme featuring the LGBT \u201cpride\u201d flag arranged in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1583058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1583058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1583058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1583058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1583058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1583058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1583058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}