Peter Tatchell Arrested - Outrageous

[Everanewbie]

AIBU to be outraged my Peter Tatchell's latest arrest?

For those who have not heard, the famous campaigner attended a recent Gaza protest. He held a placard that demanded Israel stop the genocide, and that Hamas are a shameful, and reiterated their official terrorist status for the torture an execution of a Palestinian man that attended an anti-Hamas demonstration in Gaza. He was arrested on the basis of inciting racial and religious hatred. The police have since apologised indicating that they believed him to be part of a counter-protest. He spent 5 hours in a cell.

That is an interesting take. One that I hadn't considered. If it were performative, and attention seeking, then it does change my view on this to an extent. But even so, if it were deliberate attempt to highlight police overreach then, well I support that.

Why are you so keen to brush aside Peter Tatchell's views or his past @Everanewbie ?

What brought him to your attention in the first place?

“STOP Israel genocide! STOP Hamas executions! Odai Al-Rubai, aged 22, executed by Hamas! RIP!”

far from experiencing sympathy, i am indulging in an over-abundance of Schadenfreude.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

You need to do some research op.

Tatchell has form for 'glossing over the facts', so his apparent arrest JUST for that - I'll take with a pinch of salt.

It's a shame he was only locked up for 5 hours.

This Peter Tatchell? "Not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive & harmful" 🤢

Those were my first thoughts when I saw news of his arrest.

BUT - I then reflected that those views had nothing to do with his lawful protest against Hamas, who are, after all vicious butchering murderous Jew-hating terrorists.

I think we need to be very careful not to expect people to have fully aligned views. Tatchell's protest against Hamas was truthful and lawful. It isn't diminished by his repulsive views on underage sex.

Although his views on underage sex might make him a repulsive person, even repulsive people can make a legal political protest about something else.

Remember that letter to the Guardian he wrote? The one that includes “while it may be impossible to condone paedophilia, it is time society acknowledged that not all sex with children is unwanted, abusive or harmful”.

Generally I try not to dismiss someone or their views if I disagree with them on some issues - often there’ll be some agreement on others. But men who are promoting paedophilia can all go to hell as far as I’m concerned.

You beat me to it.

If this were Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage, Tony Blair, Gary Lineker, or Katy Price, I would be equally appalled.

I have seen him as a talking head on multiple tv current affairs programmes. I have generally disagreed with much of what he's said on the trans issues, but I must say, I'm unaware of his comments on children, which based on comments on this thread, appear appalling. I will do my own research and come to my own conclusions.

While I am grateful for the education, I started this thread to discuss whether a person should have been arrested for what he did here, and look at the implications for free speech and how we are policed.

But it was. I complaint was made to the police, it was investigated and he was released with an apology. And I am quite sure - especially given his propensity for deliberately inviting arrest for goady behaviour - that there is much more to why he was arrested anyway. Context is everything. There is little context here, but an awful lot of historical context.

And I say that as no supporter of the police. Just less of one for him.

How many other arrests were made?

Because if it was just him and some others then odds on it was his overall conduct not just the sign which was the issue. As a professional protester he should be aware of the dangers rioting creates in a large protest area. If the objective of his conduct was provocation to incite a reaction the police officers were within their right to arrest him.

I just read his comment on this and he clearly condemns it.

https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/what-peter-tatchell-really-said-about-child-sex-abuse/

I've looked for news reports on this. The vast majority are PT himself talking about it. And for the most part it seems that he believes the organisers of the march reported him to the police for shouting out that "Hamas are terrorists" which he denies doing. The police then arrested him for that, not for what was on his placard (though apparently lots of people on the march were giving him abuse for it). And then later released him because they presumably couldn't prove he was shouting that stuff out.

He’s vile and deserves whatever he gets.

Honestly, same!

Vile man with, as another poster pointed out, a history of lying.

However, should he be telling the whole truth (doubtful IMO) then I do agree with the OP that this is worrying.

I'm, much to my own surprise, with the OP on this one. Tatchell is a misogynist of the first water but he shouldn't have been arrested for this. Do I care that he spent hours in a cell though? Not particularly.

I both think that PT is a man with deeply questionable views about women and children, and that it's insane to arrest someone for so-called offenses against an organisation that is deemed terrorist under UK law.

Oh give over. PT loves being arrested. It grants hims the attention and victim status that he craves.

As a member of the LGB community, I absolutely despise Tatchell. I hate that he is often seen as the spokesperson for the whole community. He most certainly never speaks for me. He is a paedophile apologist and actively undermines women’s rights through his rabid pro-trans activism.

Couldn’t give a flying fig about him being locked up in a cell for a few hours. He’s an odious man with extremely troubling views. He’s also a shameless self-publicist, inserting himself into any cause that he thinks will make him popular. The police should check his hard drive closely to see if there’s anything else he should be locked up for on a lengthier basis.

Israel and Hammas are covered in the blood of women, children, medics and every sort of civillian. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. It doesn't make it a useful timepiece though. This guy seems very media hungry

Sorry OP. That bloke deserves everything he gets.

He is a professional protester.

So with 20+ years of doing he should be able to work out what will and will not result in the UK police lifting him from a protest.

So I would like to be supplied with a little more data before agreeing the arrest was "baseless".

And he was allegedly protesting against the State of Israel too.

Isn't it absolutely clear. OP might be talking about a truly revolting man, but this thread is about what the police did, which (if this thread is accurate) is (1) arrest him for nothing, and (2) release him five hours later because there was no crime commit for him to be charged with.

On the face of it he can probably get £1500 or £2000 out of the police for wrongful arrest and false improsonment (and I for one don't like seeing paedophile apologists getting taxpayers money).

This example is equivalent to a woman having a sign saying "no men in women's toilets", being arrested for transphobia, being held for five hours and then released. It is utterly outrageous, and anyone who appreciates free speech or understands the importance of competent police and the risk of the process being the punishment should be utterly horrified.

Note - post assumes OP's description of the fact is acccurate.