UK thought police arrest woman for silent prayer

[TSwizzle]

A pro-life woman was arrested earlier this month for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham, U.K. on the grounds that she had breached a speech buffer zone established by the local city council. Police told Isabel Vaughan-Spruce that she would be taken into custody for violating a Public Space Protection Order. Video footage of the arrest was captured by AllThingsProLife and circulated by Alliance Defending Freedom, which is hosting a fundraiser for Vaughan-Spruce’s legal defense. When officers asked whether she was part of a protest, she replied “no.” They then asked if she was praying, to which she said she could be doing so “in my head.” Police then searched her, and patted down her hair, before handcuffing her and escorting her to the station.

Yahoo News

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court.

 

[ZiprHead]

She was trespassing in an area she was not allowed to be in. It has nothing to do with the silent prayer.

Damn, you're a sucker for these bullshit stories.

 

[Gospel]

If our behavior on earth is any indication, I'm inclined to believe that if our species manages to harness intergalactic travel we'd throttle down a billion light years just to complain about someone else's space.

 

[Politesse]

Damn elitist space aliens, thinking they're so special just because they transcended their material forms and possess godlike powers.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

A pro-life woman was arrested earlier this month for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham, U.K. on the grounds that she had breached a speech buffer zone established by the local city council. Police told Isabel Vaughan-Spruce that she would be taken into custody for violating a Public Space Protection Order. Video footage of the arrest was captured by AllThingsProLife and circulated by Alliance Defending Freedom, which is hosting a fundraiser for Vaughan-Spruce’s legal defense. When officers asked whether she was part of a protest, she replied “no.” They then asked if she was praying, to which she said she could be doing so “in my head.” Police then searched her, and patted down her hair, before handcuffing her and escorting her to the station.

Yahoo News

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court.

"Speech" covers more than just spoken words. It's activity meant to convey a message. They pull stunts like this so the sheep will believe they are being oppressed.

 

[TomC]

"on the grounds that she had breached a speech buffer zone established by the local city council. Police told Isabel Vaughan-Spruce that she would be taken into custody for violating a Public Space Protection Order."

This is completely different from the OP title. So different I can't help but think that there's some lying going on.
Tom

 

[Ford]

"on the grounds that she had breached a speech buffer zone established by the local city council. Police told Isabel Vaughan-Spruce that she would be taken into custody for violating a Public Space Protection Order."

This is completely different from the OP title. So different I can't help but think that there's some lying going on.
Tom

Lying to generate outrage... it is the right wing way.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

"on the grounds that she had breached a speech buffer zone established by the local city council. Police told Isabel Vaughan-Spruce that she would be taken into custody for violating a Public Space Protection Order."

This is completely different from the OP title. So different I can't help but think that there's some lying going on.
Tom

She violated a restraining order.

 

[TSwizzle]

it’s very revealing which religions are tolerated in the UK. A Christian woman standing near an abortion clinic, possibly praying gets lifted by plod almost immediately. The loons from extinction rebellion who disrupt traffic and emergency vehicles by sitting in the road are pretty much left alone.

 

[TomC]

it’s very revealing which religions are tolerated in the UK. A Christian woman standing near an abortion clinic, possibly praying gets lifted by plod almost immediately. The loons from extinction rebellion who disrupt traffic and emergency vehicles by sitting in the road are pretty much left alone.

I very much doubt that this is any more true than your OP title.
Which was nearly "not at all".

She wasn't arrested for praying or holding opinions.
Tom

 

[bilby]

The loons from extinction rebellion who disrupt traffic and emergency vehicles by sitting in the road are pretty much left alone.

That's an outright falsehood. Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction), but they're frequently assaulted by members of the public who they're inconveniencing, and those assaults are rarely acknowledged by the authorities at all.

 

[TomC]

Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction),

I'm kinda afraid to ask, but what is "extinction rebellion"?

Sounds bogus, but I dunno.
Tom

 

[Metaphor]

The loons from extinction rebellion who disrupt traffic and emergency vehicles by sitting in the road are pretty much left alone.

That's an outright falsehood. Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction), but they're frequently assaulted by members of the public who they're inconveniencing, and those assaults are rarely acknowledged by the authorities at all.

They are assaulting others by blocking egress in a public place. They are picked up and moved, not assaulted.

Maybe you are sympathetic to loons who block ambulances but the general public isn't.

 

[Politesse]

Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction),

I'm kinda afraid to ask, but what is "extinction rebellion"?

Sounds bogus, but I dunno.
Tom

Grassroots environmental justice movement in the UK, loosely organized but well-coordinated through social media; most people know them through a series of road blockades and building occupations in 2019 and 2021. You would hate them.

 

[Metaphor]

Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction),

I'm kinda afraid to ask, but what is "extinction rebellion"?

Sounds bogus, but I dunno.
Tom

Grassroots environmental justice movement in the UK, loosely organized but well-coordinated through social media; most people know and hate them through a series of road blockades and building occupations in 2019 and 2021.

Added context.

 

[Politesse]

The loons from extinction rebellion who disrupt traffic and emergency vehicles by sitting in the road are pretty much left alone.

That's an outright falsehood. Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction), but they're frequently assaulted by members of the public who they're inconveniencing, and those assaults are rarely acknowledged by the authorities at all.

They are assaulting others by blocking egress in a public place. They are picked up and moved, not assaulted.

Maybe you are sympathetic to loons who block ambulances but the general public isn't.

I love how to you "sitting in a road" is assault, but "forcibly moving someone" is not.

You must have had trouble on the playground as a kid. "But teacher, I had to hit him, he was just sitting there!"

 

[TomC]

I love how to you "sitting in a road" is assault, but "forcibly moving someone" is not.

This isn't that hard to figure out.

Blocking a major road is a big problem for tons of people. Far more than just the people who are driving on the road at that moment. It's also a problem for everyone from their coworkers to the kids they're supposed to pick up at daycare to the staff of the daycare center.

Yeah, "sitting on a road" is an assault.
Tom

 

[Metaphor]

The loons from extinction rebellion who disrupt traffic and emergency vehicles by sitting in the road are pretty much left alone.

That's an outright falsehood. Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction), but they're frequently assaulted by members of the public who they're inconveniencing, and those assaults are rarely acknowledged by the authorities at all.

They are assaulting others by blocking egress in a public place. They are picked up and moved, not assaulted.

Maybe you are sympathetic to loons who block ambulances but the general public isn't.

I love how to you "sitting in a road" is assault, but "forcibly moving someone" is not.

You must have had trouble on the playground as a kid. "But teacher, I had to hit him, he was just sitting there!"

I was the victim of bullies, but I suppose that does not fit your narrative, so you have to concoct phantasias about my personal history instead.

 

[Politesse]

The loons from extinction rebellion who disrupt traffic and emergency vehicles by sitting in the road are pretty much left alone.

That's an outright falsehood. Not only are they immediately arrested as soon as the police arrive (although their actual removal from the scene can take a while due to their deliberate obstruction), but they're frequently assaulted by members of the public who they're inconveniencing, and those assaults are rarely acknowledged by the authorities at all.

They are assaulting others by blocking egress in a public place. They are picked up and moved, not assaulted.

Maybe you are sympathetic to loons who block ambulances but the general public isn't.

I love how to you "sitting in a road" is assault, but "forcibly moving someone" is not.

You must have had trouble on the playground as a kid. "But teacher, I had to hit him, he was just sitting there!"

I was the victim of bullies, but I suppose that does not fit your narrative, so you have to concoct phantasias about my personal history instead.

Well, I am sorry to hear that. So was I, and it really sucked. I apologize if I brought up sucky memories for you too, and joking or not, I should not have brought personal experiences into it.

 

[Politesse]

Calling nonviolent civil disobedience "assault" while excusing police violence is still pretty bonkers though.