Arrest of Graham Linehan underscores the need for a UK-equivalent of the First Amendment.

In a surprising turn of events, Graham Linehan, the co-creator of the popular British comedy series Father Ted, was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Monday on suspicion of 'inciting violence'. The arrest was made by officers from the Met Police Aviation Unit.

The arrest stems from three posts on a social media platform, one of which 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.'

As a condition of his bail, Linehan has been banned from using the social media platform in question.

This incident comes at a time when the issue of freedom of expression in Great Britain is under scrutiny. With laws such as the Online Safety Act, which requires online platforms to remove harmful content like hate speech or disinformation, and "Safe Access Zones" around abortion clinics that ban protests to protect patients from harassment, some argue that there are significantly fewer protected freedoms of expression. Critics point to large numbers of peaceful protesters who have been arrested and charged under anti-terror laws, raising concerns about limits on the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.

In a separate incident, Lucy Connolly, a 42-year-old mother from Northampton, was sentenced to 31 months in prison for a single inflammatory social-media post in October last year. She pleaded guilty to 'publishing material intending to stir up racial hatred', contrary to Section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986.

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It's important to note that the threshold at which protected speech becomes illegal incitement is extremely high, as established by the US Supreme Court in Brandenburg vs Ohio. The Public Order Act 1986 states that a person who publishes or distributes written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting is guilty of an offence if they intend to stir up racial hatred or if racial hatred is likely to be stirred up.

These arrests were predominantly under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1998. In 2023, officers from 37 police forces in the UK made 12,183 arrests, which is the equivalent of about 33 arrests per day.

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