Republicans are getting arrested

[carmenitapink]

I find it ridiculous that the media mocks North Korea for forcing its citizens to mourn their leaders death, yet we are being made to do the same.

To top it off, there have been numerous arrests of people protesting the monarchy - which is perfectly within their right to do so, especially if you believe in democracy and only having elected leaders.

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/12/republican-britain-why-are-people-getting-arrested

I liked and respected the Queen, but don't like the rest of the royal family and find the idea that they have the "divine" right to rule frankly ridiculous in this day and age. What is Britain becoming when people don't have the free speech to protest about it?!

I believe that he should mourn her in private and not be on display as a representative of the royal family in public, where there is bound to be backlash against him.

I read the article, what you call “political events announcing the new head of state” I called “ceremonies for the new King”…swings and roundabouts.

Its actually not lawful behaviour to breach the peace per the Public Order Act of 1986 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act of 2022. So yeah, the police have every right to arrest them if their initial warnings/cautions are ignored.

So according to you, he has less of a right to mourn his mother than a convicted murderer in prison serving a life sentence? Got it.

So according to you, he has less of a right to mourn his mother than a convicted murderer in prison serving a life sentence? Got it.

That depends, do convicted murderers parade through the town first? Or do they just attend the funeral and go back to prison?

I dont object to the right to protest per se but do you for example think its fine we have the god squad outside of termination clinics? That's freedom of speech too and normally less intrusive

Sometimes its just not the place and at this time its disrespectful when people are going through something really difficult

I do agree that the heckler in Edinburgh today needed to be removed for his own safety, but arrested? When the bloke that punched and pushed him - committing actual assault and continuing to commit assault after the uniforms had him - got to walk away?

Nah, not in my name.

And yes, convicted murderers get to go to funerals, but they don't get to parade their privilege in front of the nation while they do so.

They're not being arrested for being republicans.

They're being arrested for heckling during funerary events,

If some prat came along yelling at your Granny's funeral, wouldn't you want then dealt with too?

What do you think would happen to someone who started yelling at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday? And that's an event that happens annually. Not only once ever.

Well yes people are if everything is being cancelled in order to mourn. No thought given to the non refundable and expensive travel tickets or hotels booked for the football over the weekend, even if you don't care about the queen's death.

A minute of silence at event's is more than appropriate. None of it is in keeping with what I liked most about the queen - she seemed no nonsense and didn't like to make a fuss!

None of the news reports say the heckler was punched. The most any of them say is that mourners “pushed him into the hands of the police” and the pictures show no injury consistent with being punched.

There’s no “parading of privilege”…no one can help it if their mum is famous and a funeral procession of her hearse is being televised and attended by the public on the street.

But they weren't not heckling at a funeral event it was at a political event. Proclamation of Charles as king simply isn't a funeral event & is the most appropriate place to protest if you believe the monarchy should be abolished...

The success of the royal family's PR campaign is astonishing when I read this thread.

I absolutely loved the Queen and think she was an example of what a queen should be, but we now have a philandering, gas lighter who emotionally abused Diana and caused her to develop bulimia & who accepted cash in a suitcase from the Middle East (which would have been a money laundering offence if he was a commoner) as king and a philandering home wrecker as queen.

Why shouldn't people be able to protest on the street at public and political events. Police could move them on rather than arrest them.

Scary that people don't mind freedoms being taken away. Wait until you want to protest about something you care about 😔

@Discovereads in the video I saw the heckler came flying out of the crowd backwards, with a biggish guy in a pink (?) shirt who appeared to have applied force to him so that he fell.

Then as the uniforms went to the heckler and helped him stand up, the guy in the shirt came back round and gave him a mighty big shove, leading to a nearby woman shouting 'get your hands off him'.

So violent physical contact was made at least twice by a much bigger man who then walked off, no doubt fully chuffed with himself that his civic duty had been done.

Completely agree, especially with ‘the success of the Royal Family’s PR campaign is astonishing’
Our rights to freedom of speech and protest are being eroded, and this family with incredible hereditary privilege is being kept above the law that applies to everyone else

His privilege is being paraded because his mother, god rest her wee soul, paid off his accusers. He may not be able to 'help' who is mother is but he can 'help' himself by admitting that his presence at public events is a middle finger to those of us who care about violence against women more than pomp and circumstance. He could have sat in the car with Camilla, if she felt it safe enough to do so, of course.

Seriously? A football game not being postponed is more important than the 10 day mourning period of death of our Queen? One minute of silence is enough for her? FGS my elderly cats got more than one minute of silence when they died last winter!

This is once in a lifetime death of a national treasure, while football games are commonplace. If you can’t handle a 10 day pause in football, you have an addiction.

Here is the video I saw. He’s pulled over from behind by the police. They then pick him up, he pulls away but a bystander pushes him back towards the police.

metro.co.uk/2022/09/12/andrew-joins-charles-behind-queens-coffin-but-is-not-allowed-to-wear-uniform-17357991/?ito=article.mweb.share.top.link

Well let the hecklers wait until after the funeral when everyone settles down.

As for cancelling events that's plain daft. People have paid to attend. People who work events will lose money. I don't believe the royals want it, just daft committees virtue signalling. A minutes silence is enough

@Discovereads you are kind of illustrated my point. People shouldn't be forced to mourn. By cancelling events at short notice with no regard for many people of this country who are already struggling, yes you are forcing people to do things.

YOU think the Queen is worthy of 10 days of absolute standstill of life, but not everyone does.

The way it's reported in North Korea and Thailand event where they cancel everything and make people observe x days of mourning for leaders' deaths is derided by the press, but here we are in Britain arrested protestors at the swearing in of the new king and cancelling anything because the 96yo queen died.

We should be CELEBRATING what a wonderful life she had and continuing to do the things we enjoy.

@carmenitapink
You’re not being forced to mourn because a football game is being postponed so as to allow all the fans who want to mourn the opportunity to do so. You can literally pick any other fun activity and go do it. It’s rather like someone complaining they’re being “forced” to celebrate Christmas because the shops are closed on Christmas Day, when it’s a small thing to just shop on another day. You can watch football on another day.

"You’re not being forced to mourn because a football game is being postponed so as to allow all the fans who want to mourn the opportunity to do so." Can these poor fans who'd apparently like to mourn not exercise their own free will and choose not to attend? They have to be helped to do so by cancelling all temptations to do anything else?

I don't agree with cancelling events, and I believe in free speech - but there are, and should be, limits in public spaces. Protesting funerals (and related events) is abhorrent and the police should move people on. Same as protesting abortion clinics.

As much as I worry about the restriction of rights that has happened recently, I don't think this is a good example. At the time of the last change of monarch the police would not have tolerated people protesting events.

But the right to protest doesn’t mean you have a right to heckle and hold up obscene signs harassing other people, your equals, who wish to mourn the Queen or pay respects to the new King during those public ceremonies. I think arresting such people is the correct thing to do as it is a breach of the peace and an affront to public order

This is not heckling. His is not obscene signs. This is not an affront to public order. Someone is questioned for holding up a blank piece of paper. In London. Not at a funeral procession. And what is obscene about another clip I could link saying 'Not My King'.

twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1569360539611963394

Have a look at what happens to a man holding up a blank piece of paper in Russia.
We are not Russia. We are not North Korea.

twitter.com/miketheunderdog/status/1569395742573215744

So this woman who is quietly holding up a sign in London, not at a funeral procession, has to be removed? She is not yelling. She is not shouting.

She is compliant with the Police but this is so very wrong.

Football has been postponed because of concerns about police respiring. Not just because the Queen died.

if football matches didn’t need such heavy police presence, they would be going ahead.

The hecklers are being removed because it’s likely to incite far more trouble, as many people are there to pay their respects. They have the rest of Charles reign to heckle him the rest of Andrews life to heckle him. The can protest next tuesday.

The RF must be feeling very weakened to be scared by a few quiet signs.

These arrests are a very bad look. You should be at liberty to hold a sign saying 'not my king' in a democracy.

The hecklers are being removed because it’s likely to incite far more trouble, as many people are there to pay their respects. They have the rest of Charles reign to heckle him the rest of Andrews life to heckle him. The can protest next tuesday.

My examples I have posted links to, are not heckling.

No words are said.

A blank piece of paper and someone is stopped and questioned by the Police (see the footage)

And a woman not in a crowd or watching a procession with a sign saying 'Not My King' is frogmarched off.

It's so easy to call them hecklers. They are not.