Irish humorist apprehended under accusations of offensive transphobic social media posts
In a surprising turn of events, renowned British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan described the arrest of comedy writer and women's rights activist Graham Linehan as "ridiculous". Comparing the UK's treatment of free speech to North Korea, Morgan expressed his concern over the incident in Great Britain.
The controversy began when Linehan was arrested by armed police at Heathrow Airport on September 1st. The authorities initiated the charges against him regarding three tweets that were alleged to be a call to violence. One of the tweets, from April 20th, read: "If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls."
Another tweet, from April 19th, was a picture of a trans rally with the caption: "A photo you can smell." A third tweet was a follow-up to the previous one and read: "I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F**k em."
Linehan described his detainment on his Substack platform, stating that he was treated like a terrorist, locked in a cell, and banned from speaking online. He also mentioned that his blood pressure was found to be very high during a hospital check, which can exacerbate the risk of heart attack, stroke, or other serious afflictions.
Transgender activist Sophia Brooks accused Linehan of harassment on social media and damaging her mobile phone in October, which Linehan denied.
The police admitted officers became concerned for Linehan's health during the arrest in Great Britain and took him to the hospital. A spokesperson for the police confirmed Linehan's arrest, stating he was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence in relation to posts on social media.
JK Rowling, famous author and women's rights activist, expressed outrage over Linehan's arrest in Britain, calling it totalitarianism and utterly deplorable. Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick also criticized the police for wasting time on Linehan's arrest, stating they should be focusing on actual criminals.
The authorities that initiated the charges against Linehan are the British police, who arrested him at London Heathrow Airport under the UK’s Online Safety Act, which targets "offensive" online content related to hate speech or harmful communications in Great Britain.
Zack Polanski, Green Party Leader, supported Linehan's arrest, stating the tweets were totally unacceptable, but admitted he did not understand why the officers were armed. Suzanne Moore, journalist, called the situation surrounding Linehan's arrest in Great Britain "insane".
Linehan is internationally known for co-creating sitcoms such as Father Ted, Black Books and the IT-Crowd. He moved to Arizona in 2023 following professional setbacks in the UK over his opinion on transgenderism in Britain.
The UK-based Free Speech Union expressed doubt over the legality of Linehan's arrest and bail conditions, stating they would support him. Elon Musk, owner of X, commented on Rowling's post, saying "Police state".
Linehan faces trial for two separate charges of harassment and damaging a mobile phone at Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 4.
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